Assassin's Creed: Elf Song AC
by Cdc100
Summary: Kaede is adopted and now has a loving father, but when he's kidnapped, she must learn the ways of the Assassins to save him.
1. What She Always Wanted

"Assassin's Creed: Elf Song"

By cdc100

Summary: As a child, Kaede is adopted, and now has a loving family. However, when her new father is kidnapped, she must learn the ways of the Assassins in order to save him.

Disclaimer: This is a work of pure non-profit fan fiction. I do not own any of the characters, their weapons, their abilities, or any of their universes, nor do I own any of the lyrics that will appear in later chapters, or any of the products mentioned in the story such as Coca-Cola, or PlayStation.

Chapter One

"What She Always Wanted"

A man in a white hooded coat sat crouched on a rooftop, silently surveying his surroundings. It was a dark night in the Kamakura area of Japan. He had just arrived here after a long, grueling trip aboard an airplane. The man began to get impatient, but suppressed it. He knew that as soon as he lost his patience, the enemy would win. He silently reassured himself that his target would be there soon.

After a few moments of waiting, he heard static in his earpiece, followed by a familiar voice. He pressed his hand to his ear, to better hear the imminent message.

"We have movement," said the voice.

With that message, the hooded man took a look around, and found a man in a black suit rounding a corner, followed by two large, muscular men. The hooded man stayed crouched and moved back away from the edge of the roof. As he moved further, he raised his stance. He looked ahead toward the end of the alley, and found a perfect place to strike. He took a deep breath, and walked back a few paces, then ran forward and propelled himself toward the next rooftop. He repeated the action a few times, until he found himself on a low rooftop. The hooded figure then hopped off the roof, landing into a bush. He let the three men pass by his hiding place before jumping out, and creeping to the corner of the house. He watched them walk a few steps before creeping up behind one of the man's bodyguards and bringing the sides of his hands into the sides of his neck, felling him instantly. The other bodyguard began to turn before the hooded man brought a fist against his temple, and sent his other fist into contact with his solar plexus, flooring him as well. Then the hooded man jumped onto the bodyguards' charge, and flicked his wrist, revealing a hidden blade beneath his wristband. He placed the tip threateningly against the man's throat, getting a gasp of fear.

The hooded man flicked his wrist again, withdrawing his blade within its confines.

"Sleep now," he said, flicking his middle finger and spraying a gray fume out of his wristband.

Within seconds, his target was slumped on the ground, unconscious. The hooded man slung his victim over his shoulder, and discreetly made his way through the back alleys of the area, ducking into hiding spots when needed, until he found his objective. He knocked twice on the back door of an abandoned restaurant. A shadowy figure answered the door, and welcomed the new visitor inside. As the door shut behind them, the figure spoke.

"Were there any problems?" asked the figure.

"He had two guards," said the hooded man. "But they went down easily."

"What of your watcher?" the figure asked.

"He told me he would see to any liabilities when he knew I had captured our objective. And I have," said the hooded man.

The figure then led his guest downstairs, each of them carrying one end of their prisoner. The figure gestured to a table in the center of the basement, where the only source of light shined down from a dim lamp on the ceiling. The two men set the unconscious man on the table face up, and began strapping him down.

"What do we do now?" asked the man in the hood.

"Leave him to us," said the figure. "He will tell us what the enemy's plans in this country are before long. Meet up with your supervisor. We will contact you when we have extracted the information."

The hooded man bowed and made his way back to the stairs.

"Godspeed, Dumont," he called over his shoulder.

"Safe travels, Halcón," called the figure.

"Nothing is true. Everything is permitted," they chorused.

With that, the man known as Halcón exited the building, and disappeared down a dark alley adjacent to it.

* * *

><p>A little girl woke up gasping for breath in the middle of the night… She still felt unbelievably hot and her blankets were caked with her sweat. She looked around her room, seeing that nothing had changed.<p>

She looked back up at the top bunk in resignation, realizing that yet another grueling day awaited her in the morning. She was determined to put off that day for as long as she could. Feeling weak, she got up out of bed. Taking it easy, she made her way outside and left the grounds of the orphanage. It wasn't long before she collapsed on the ground. She lay there for only a few moments. What difference would it make? Nobody would come looking for her no matter how long she lay there.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a high-pitched yip. She looked up to see a small visitor. She now lay face to face with a small brown dog with patches of white on its fur. It panted slightly, looking at her curiously. The girl smiled at it.

"Are you worried about me?" she asked.

The little dog let out a small bark, as if in acknowledgement.

"It's okay," she said. "I'm not lonely."

The girl felt tears begin to well in her eyes, and she buried her face in her arms, not wanting her guest to see.

"I'm not…"

The little dog came toward her and started nuzzling her hair. She looked up at it once again, and started to pet it. She liked the feel of its fur against her hand. After a few minutes of rubbing the dog, she got up and started to walk back towards the orphanage. She could hear the padding of paws behind her as she walked. She looked behind her to see the dog following her.

"No," she said, causing the dog to stop walking.

"Please, don't follow me," she said. "If you do…"

The little girl shuddered.

"I don't even want to think about that."

The dog whined a little. The girl smiled a sad smile and bent down to pet it again.

"I'll bring you some food tomorrow, okay?" she asked.

The dog barked again. And the girl got up and walked away. As she came back into the orphanage, she went into the bathroom. She turned on the sink and let the water run for a little bit before cupping her hands and splashing the collected water onto her face. Turning off the water, she looked in the mirror. Looking back at her was the soaked face of a little girl with shoulder length reddish-pink hair, pale skin, blood red eyes, and two small bony protrusions sticking out of either side of her head. She covered the things with her hands.

"I wish I was never born with these things…No…I wish I was never born at all…"

She lowered her head and slowly padded out of the bathroom and back to her room, where she lay down once again to go back to sleep. However, looking up at the top bunk, she noticed something that wasn't there before.

A handprint.

The sight unnerved the girl, but she decided that even if something was wrong, nobody would come to her aid. So, she lay back, closed her eyes and fell back to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next day, the girl woke up, and put on her clothes. She dressed in a short-sleeved button-up shirt, and a short red skirt. After she finished putting on her clothes, she looked at herself in a small mirror inside her closet.<p>

"Okay…Just get this day over with."

She breathed in once, and exhaled slowly.

"You can do this," she said.

With that, she picked up her bag and left her room to go to class.

She sat through her first three classes of the day, not really paying attention to her teachers. Her mind was only focused on the students in the classrooms who were pointing at her and muttering about her under their breath. Relief came for her when lunchtime came around.

The girl rushed out of the classroom, and crashed into something which caused her to fall backwards. She shook her head once and opened her eyes to see what she'd run into. A man in a black suit with a light blue shirt was walking by her classroom. He had medium-length black hair and green eyes. The man bent down and extended a hand.

"Sorry about that, sweetheart," he said. "Are you okay?"

The girl looked at the hand, but then scooted back a couple of inches before getting up and dusting herself off.

"I'm fine," she said, casting her eyes down to the ground.

"Are you sure?" asked the man.

"Come along, Mr. Martino," said another voice.

The man looked up to see a much older man addressing him. The girl recognized him as the school's headmaster.

"I'm sure she's starving and anxious to get to lunch," he said.

With a slight frown, Mr. Martino followed the headmaster down the hall, looking back to the girl and giving her a smile and a thumbs-up.

The girl was puzzled. Nobody, not even an adult, had looked at her like that and smiled unless they were being mean. What was with this guy?

She decided not to dwell on it any longer and went to the lunchroom. She brought her bag with her to a table, which was empty. She left the bag in its spot and went to the lunch line. She was only able to get her food as the other children were filing out of the lunch room. By the time it was her turn, all the good food had been taken, and so she resigned herself to picking up an apple and a carton of milk and going back to her seat. Before leaving, however, she remembered the little dog and grabbed half a sandwich. At her table, she could see three boys laughing at something.

As she got closer, she could see what they were laughing at. Her bag now sat on the table, covered in milk. From the smell of it, it must have been a sour batch.

"What happened to your bag?" one of the boys, who she knew as Tomoo, asked. "It's all covered in milk. It smells gross."

He and the other boys started to laugh again. Another boy nudged the girl's shoulder.

"He asked you a question, freak," he said.

The little nudge caused the girl to fall to the floor with a yelp. Once she hit the floor, the boys laughed again.

"You know," said Tomoo, "I heard that they found you all alone in a field. I bet your parents abandoned you because of those freaky horns on your head."

As she tried to get up, the girl felt something crook around her ankle and pull upwards, causing her to fall back down. The boys broke up in cruel laughter once again, and started jumping up and down in glee.

"You must be some kind of monster or something," said Tomoo, "because you're definitely not a human. You're so weird, even the teachers think you're creepy!"

The laughter stopped suddenly. The girl didn't see it, but a tall shadow was suddenly cast over the three boys. They looked behind them and stood face-to-face with the same man that the girl had met earlier. However, the boys weren't lucky enough to see his friendly side.

"You know, if I wanted anyone to even think of adopting me, I wouldn't dance around like an idiot and pick on other kids," said Mr. Martino.

"Shit," said Tomoo. It was then that everyone heard a door open on the side of the room in which the girl fell over. A girl around their age opened the door and yelled out of the room.

"Teacher! Tomoo's picking on people again!" she yelled.

"Shit! Let's get out of here!" yelled Tomoo, leading his group out of the room at a run.

The new girl yelled after them.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves for picking on a girl!"

Closing the door, the new arrival came toward the man and the horned girl. Mr. Martino helped the horned girl to her feet as the other girl looked at her bag.

"Aw. There's milk all over your bag. That boy is so mean," she said.

Mr. Martino said nothing, but the horned girl spoke to nobody in particular.

"Everyone here is unhappy," she said.

"What?" asked the newest girl.

"And since they're unhappy, they're probably looking for someone worse off than they are," said the horned girl, picking up her bag.

As she left the room, the other girl walked after her.

"Hey, wait!" she yelled.

Mr. Martino didn't follow, but merely looked after them in thought.

The horned girl was about to go towards her next class when the other girl came up to her and took her hand.

"Hey, come on," she said, leading her to the bathroom.

When they got there, the girl took a wet paper towel and sponged off the horned girl's bag.

"It should be all right when it dries off," said the girl, wringing out the paper towel in the sink, and handing the bag back to the horned girl.

"You know, you don't have to be alone all the time," she said, smiling a friendly smile at the horned girl. "If you ever have a problem, you can always tell me anything. Whatever you need, I'm there for you."

The horned girl looked at the ground, unsure what to say about this revelation, but finally just nodded. The other girl handed her bag back to her and left the bathroom.

Before the horned girl knew it, all of the day's classes had ended. On her way back to her room, she kept her eyes lowered, hoping not to run into anybody else. However, she was disappointed, as she once again crashed into a large leg. She looked up to see Mr. Martino once again.

"Sorry…" was all she could say, in a very small, meek voice.

"No, that's my fault," said the man, with a chuckle, stooping to help her up again. "I should wear a bell somewhere. Are you okay?"

The girl looked down again as she was addressed.

"I'm fine," she said.

Mr. Martino put his hand under her chin and lifted up.

"Your principal's been showing me around the school, and I've seen you every so often," he said. "You always seem so sad."

"Don't worry about me," said the girl in a small but forceful, almost defiant tone. "I don't need it."

The man chuckled.

"You seem like you can take care of yourself," he said. "But that doesn't mean you have to put up with a bunch of hurtful things."

The girl looked up at him, with a sad expression.

"What do you want from me?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said. "Just to make a cute little girl's day a little better. And maybe learn that girl's name."

The girl looked down again.

"Are "freak" and "monster" not good enough?" she asked.

The man's smile disappeared.

"Absolutely not," he said. "Because I don't see a freak or a monster here."

The girl closed her eyes and then opened them again.

"It's Kaede," she said. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Martino," she said.

The man smiled once again and took her hand in his.

"Let me take you back to your room. I have a few minutes before I have to leave," he said.

Kaede allowed herself to be led by this very odd man back to her room. He stopped outside her door and as she opened it, he waved to her.

"I'll be back again tomorrow," he said. "I'll come visit you."

Kaede smiled slightly; something she hadn't done forever. As Mr. Martino walked away, she closed her door and started to work on her assignments for the day.

By the time she was finished it was nightfall. Remembering her promise to one of her new friends, she picked up her lunch bag and carried it with her. She carefully exited her room and went down the hallway to the exit of the school. She then slowly and carefully made her way back to where she came the other night. There, waiting for her, was the little dog. It yelped happily when she came into view. She immediately fished out the half sandwich from her bag and placed it on the ground. The little pup padded forward, and sniffed it before diving into it.

"You were hungry, weren't you?" asked Kaede.

The little dog continued to eat as Kaede spoke.

"I'm so glad I found you," she said with a smile. "I don't know how much longer I can last in this place."

When it was done eating, the little puppy nuzzled up against Kaede's hand and whined.

"I'm really sorry. I don't have anything else for you to eat," she said.

As if to accentuate her statement, a loud rumble came from her stomach. She chuckled humorlessly.

"I guess half a lunch isn't enough for either of us," she said.

She got up to leave, and pointed in the direction of the orphanage.

"No matter how hungry you get, don't go over there. The people there will be mean to you, too."

The dog looked up at her and barked once.

"If I were stronger, I could protect you," she said. "If I were only a little stronger…"

The dog seemed to understand somehow, and so Kaede left it and went back to her room. Upon arrival, she got into her pajamas and climbed into bed.

That night, she dreamed. There she sat, with no clothes, in the fetal position. She closed her eyes and reached her hands forward.

_I feel something,_ she thought. _Something's…changing inside of me._

She felt something come out of her back...

Kaede woke up with a start, gasping for breath again, and her blankets once again caked in her sweat. As she calmed down, she looked up at the top bunk. Her eyes widened at what she saw.

More handprints.

She turned on her light, and looking around her room, saw handprints everywhere. The sight unnerved her, but she resolved to deal with it later. It was morning, and she needed to be getting to class.

As she sat through class, her mind wasn't on either the teacher or the other students as it normally was. All she could think about was the puppy. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to keep feeding it scraps forever. It needed to start having full meals or it wouldn't last long.

_How? How am I going to make sure it eats?_

She mulled it over for a little while and remembered something.

_The girl!_

It wasn't her first choice. She wasn't entirely trusting of the girl, but what choice did she have? Confide in a girl she'd never met before or let her only friend in the entire world starve? That was no choice at all.

So, when her classes came to a break, she went and found the girl in an empty room, reading a book. Hesitantly, she approached the girl. She didn't say anything to her, but when the girl turned the page, she noticed Kaede out of the corner of her eye.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Kaede looked away from the girl and answered.

"I… have a problem."

She sat down across from the girl and explained her situation.

"No way! You have a dog?" the girl asked, smiling.

Kaede shushed her.

"Sorry," said the girl in a hushed tone. "If Tomoo and his friends find the dog, they'll torture him, won't they?"

The girl smiled again.

"Don't worry! I can share my lunch with him, too! I'll make sure I have leftovers!"

Kaede then led the girl outside, both of them carrying food with them. Finding the dog, they set down their food and watched him eat.

"Wow! He's cute!" said the girl.

"Don't tell anyone about this," said Kaede.

"Okay! I'm not going to tell anyone!" replied the girl. "You can trust me!"

Kaede was still hesitant.

"Yeah…" she trailed off.

She and the girl made their way back to the orphanage so that they could continue class.

When classes finally ended for the day, Kaede decided to hang out in one of the empty rooms again. As she fidgeted her feet back and forth, she heard a voice come from behind her.

"Hey freak," said the snide voice of Tomoo.

Kaede defiantly turned her attention to the brat.

"You think you're pretty smart, don't you?" he asked, sneering at her. "Well, you're not smart enough."

It was then that Kaede heard a whimper come from outside the room. Her eyes widened as she recognized the whimper of her dog. And to further terrify her, in came Tomoo's two lackeys; one holding the innocent puppy. The trio finally succeeded in doing what they tried to do since they learned of Kaede's existence: getting a rise out of her.

She jumped out of her seat and ran toward the boy holding the puppy.

"You jerks!" she exclaimed.

As she reached them, one of Tomoo's friends pulled her into a full Nelson.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

Tomoo and the remaining boy laughed.

"Let me go!" Kaede exclaimed, struggling. "Stop it!"

Kaede's eyes reflected the fear that laced her heart. Tomoo leaned in close to Kaede and spoke.

"I've never seen you this upset before," he said. "You must really like the dog!"

The boy holding the dog shook it up and down.

"He's right," he said. "You don't laugh. You don't cry. You're really creepy!"

Tomoo inched closer to Kaede.

"Okay, cry," he said, in a threatening voice. "Cry and start begging. If you don't, I'll make sure the puppy does the crying for you!"

Tomoo suddenly recoiled with pain. Kaede had kicked him in the gut. The smile disappeared from his face.

"That was…dumb," he said. He then said, over his shoulder, "Hey! Kick the dog and teach her a lesson!"

Kaede screamed again.

"No!"

The boy holding the dog tossed it up a little ways and kicked him in mid-air, sending the dog flying, while whimpering, into the opposite wall.

Kaede was beyond terrified now. She struggled more fervently as Tomoo smiled again.

"This is way better than anything we can think of doing to her," he said.

He grabbed a vase on a nearby table, and dumped the flowers out of it.

"Keep holding him down," he said to his friend.

Kaede looked down at the dog in terror, willing him to know how sorry she was that she couldn't save him. All of the commotion was interrupted by the door sliding open, and the girl that Kaede met the previous day coming into the room.

"What are you doing?" she demanded. "Stop it!"

"What's wrong?" asked Tomoo, still holding the vase. "You're the one who told us about the stupid dog."

Kaede was shocked. She looked over at her "friend."

The girl stuttered.

"Because-…because-…I didn't know you were gonna do this!"

The girl looked over at Kaede and covered her eyes.

"I'm sorry!" she yelled. "I didn't mean to tell them!"

As Kaede saw the girl more closely, though…she noticed a disturbing sight on her face.

A faint smile.

"Oh well," said Tomoo.

He brought the vase up. As he brought it down, Kaede looked away and expected to hear a dull WHACK! But the sound never came. She opened her eyes and was relieved.

Mr. Martino had come into the room, and before Tomoo could attack the dog, caught the vase. Mr. Martino looked down at Tomoo with a piercing glare. Tomoo looked up and was terrified to see the man standing over him. Mr. Martino pried the vase from Tomoo's hand, grabbed him by the hair, brought him to his feet and whacked him on the head with it.

As he released his grip on Tomoo's hair, the boy fell to the floor, rubbing his head where the vase had hit him.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" asked Mr. Martino.

Mr. Martino then turned his attention to the boy holding the dog.

"Let him go," he said.

The boy didn't need it said twice.

"Now get out of here," demanded the man. With that, the three brats ran out of the room. The girl joined them, and looked back at Kaede with a big glare before leaving the room completely.

Upon being released, Kaede ran over to the dog and pulled it to her, rubbing the spot where it had been kicked. The dog licked Kaede's face a couple of times.

Mr. Martino bent down to Kaede's level and smiled at her again.

"Who's this little fella?" he asked, gesturing to the dog.

Kaede looked back up at Mr. Martino with tears in her eyes, causing him to frown again.

"He's the only true friend I've made here," she said. "And I almost lost him."

She hugged the little animal closer to her.

Mr. Martino reached a hand out to pet the dog, which responded by licking it.

"What's his name?" he asked.

Kaede looked down sadly.

"He… doesn't have one," she said.

"Oh, come on," said Mr. Martino. "Every puppy's got to have a name."

Kaede looked down for a minute, considering what Mr. Martino said. She thought for a moment, and then came up with a name.

"Gendo," she said. "His name is Gendo."

Mr. Martino continued to pet the puppy.

"Nice to meet you, Gendo," he said. "You've got a really brave owner here. Yes you do."

The dog barked happily in response.

Kaede merely looked up at the stranger.

"Brave?" she asked.

"Yes," said Mr. Martino. "You were very brave to stand up to those kids."

"But you saved him," said Kaede. "I couldn't do anything. They almost…"

The girl spilled tears from her eyes and pulled the dog tighter to her. The dog whimpered again and licked her face more.

"Everything's okay now, Kaede. They can't hurt you or Gendo now."

Kaede shook her head.

"They'll come back," she said. "They'll find him. And they'll kill him."

Mr. Martino patted her head and lifted her chin up to see him.

"Sir," she said. "Would you…"

Mr. Martino tilted his head.

"Would I what?" he asked.

Kaede simply held Gendo up.

"Would you please take him?" she asked. "He needs a good home. He needs someone to love him."

Mr. Martino frowned a bit.

"But he already has someone to love him," he said.

"But I can't protect him forever. Please?" she asked.

Mr. Martino picked up Kaede and hoisted her to her feet.

"Sure, I'll take him with me. There's just something we have to do first."

The man pulled Kaede to her feet, and they left the room and started to walk down the hall, going slow enough that Gendo could follow them.

After a short while, the trio reached the front desk. Mr. Martino rang the bell and waited for someone to come.

In a moment, a tall and skinny woman at around her mid-twenties came to the front desk and smiled at Mr. Martino.

"It's good to see you, Mr. Martino," she said. "How may I help you?"

Mr. Martino smiled back.

"I believe I have found the child I'd like to adopt," he said.

Kaede's eyes widened. Had she heard what she thought she heard?

The woman smiled again.

"Truly?"

"Yep," said Mr. Martino.

"Well, who is the little dear?" she asked.

Mr. Martino looked back at Kaede and gestured for her to come forward.

"Come here, sweetie," he said.

Kaede inched forward, Gendo following close behind. The woman looked over the desk, down at Kaede, and frowned slightly.

"This one?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Mr. Martino.

The woman chortled a little.

"Well, surely there must be another child who's piqued your interest? I could bring up a face book for you-" she started, but was interrupted by Mr. Martino.

"No," he said.

Kaede looked at Mr. Martino and found that his expression had changed. He seemed to know what everyone in the orphanage, including the teachers, thought of her…and he was not buying into it.

"Look, miss," he said. "I've been here for two days and met almost every child this orphanage has on its shoulders. And this girl is the best-behaved one I've seen, by far."

The woman flinched a bit when Mr. Martino got a little too close to her. However, she smiled and nodded.

"Very well…I'll draw up the documents, and we'll finalize it later."

Mr. Martino smiled again.

"Thank you," he said.

He walked away from the desk and smiled in Kaede's direction.

"Come along, Kaede. You too, Gendo."

Kaede followed Mr. Martino, and in turn, Gendo followed her. Kaede was still trying to wrap her mind about what happened. Nobody had ever expressed interest in her before unless they were trying to use her for something. That traitor girl was living proof.

After a few minutes of thinking about it, Kaede stopped, and so did Gendo, causing Mr. Martino to look back.

"What's wrong, Kaede?" he asked.

"Why?" asked Kaede.

Mr. Martino looked puzzled.

"Why what?" he asked.

Kaede looked at him warily.

"Why do you want me?" she asked. "What do you want?"

Mr. Martino bent down so that he was face to face with her again.

"I came to this orphanage for two reasons," he said. "First, I had heard that this orphanage could really use some money to help with its costs. And second, because I've always wanted a child of my very own. I meant what I said back there to that mean lady. You're the best-behaved kid I've seen here."

Kaede shook her head.

"But look at me. I'm so…different."

Mr. Martino laughed.

"So am I," he said. "You just can't see it."

Kaede looked at the ground.

"Hey," said Mr. Martino. "Everything will be okay. Listen, if you don't want to go with me, I'll understand. But could you think about it for a while?"

Kaede looked at the man, and didn't seem to sense any trickery from him. So, she simply nodded her head.

"Okay," she said.

"Okay, good," said Mr. Martino. "Now, come on. I need to talk to your Principal."

Kaede and her dog followed close behind Mr. Martino as he made his way to the principal's office.

The entire time that they were in the room, Kaede was quiet, and thinking, not paying attention to the occasional stare that she got from the principal. She kept thinking about Mr. Martino's offer, and what it could mean for her and Gendo.

"Well, Kaede," said Mr. Martino, interrupting her thoughts. "Let's get going. Your principal has just told me I can go ahead and take you to dinner."

Kaede looked over at the principal and gave a slight bow.

"Thank you, sir."

The principal bowed back, and watched as Mr. Martino exited the room with Kaede and Gendo in tow.

"Mr. Martino?" asked Kaede.

"Yes, Kaede? What is it?" he asked.

"Do you…still want to adopt me?" she asked.

"Yes, I do," he said. "But I'm not going to force either you or Gendo to come with me."

Kaede nodded her head. She tugged on his pant leg, signaling him to look down.

"I've decided…I can't stand this place anymore," she said. "Please take us out of here. You don't have to keep us. Just please don't make us stay here another minute."

Mr. Martino bent down and pulled Kaede into a hug.

"I'll take you with me when I go," he said. "You don't have to stay here any longer."

Kaede smiled a small smile at hearing this, but it instantly disappeared.

"We'll go grab dinner, and then we'll come back," said Mr. Martino. "You can pack your things, and we'll leave."

He let Kaede go and began to walk. She and Gendo followed him out to the school's parking lot, where a red car waited for them, which Kaede thought looked really cool.

"Put on the seatbelt when you get in," he said.

With that, the three got into the car. Kaede fastened her seatbelt and held Gendo on her lap.

The three weren't in the car for more than five minutes before they arrived at a small eating place. Gendo made to get out with them, but Mr. Martino held him back.

"Sorry, Gendo. You can't come in with us. We'll bring some food out with us, okay?"

It was easy to tell that Gendo was disappointed. Kaede was, too, but she knew that Mr. Martino was right.

As they came into the restaurant, Kaede covered her horns as well as she could. She had never felt more alien in her life. They weren't in a very high-class place, but she had never been outside the orphanage before. But she was sure that the reaction from the people in this place would be almost the same as from the people in the orphanage.

She and Mr. Martino took a booth table. It wasn't until sitting down that Mr. Martino noticed Kaede's behavior.

"Kaede? What are you doing?" he asked.

Kaede jumped at his words, having been too focused on keeping her horns covered. Slowly, she removed her hands from her head and placed them in her lap.

The two said nothing for a while, until their server came to the table.

"Good evening, Mr. Martino," she said.

"Good evening, Koyomi," said Mr. Martino.

Koyomi looked at Kaede and smiled.

"Who's this?" she asked.

"This is Kaede," said Mr. Martino. "We met at the orphanage I toured yesterday."

"She's adorable," said Koyomi, causing Kaede to blush.

"Well, Koyomi, I think I'll have my usual," said Mr. Martino. "Do you feel like anything, Kaede?"

Kaede looked down at the table and spoke softly.

"N-no…anything's fine," she said.

Mr. Martino shook his head a little.

"Koyomi, could you get Kaede some of that chocolate cheesecake I had the other day?" he asked.

"Sure thing, sir," she said, walking from the table with their menus.

Kaede and Mr. Martino sat in silence until Mr. Martino decided to break it.

"You've been really quiet," he said. "Is something wrong?"

Kaede stayed stock still, still looking at the table, as she spoke.

"Nobody's ever said that about me," said Kaede.

"That you're quiet?" asked Mr. Martino.

"No…that I'm adorable," said Kaede. "All I've ever been called was weird, or creepy, or ugly."

Mr. Martino shook his head.

"Those things on your head… they're real, aren't they?" he asked.

Kaede merely nodded her head, and was about to cover them with her hands.

"Don't do that," said Mr. Martino.

"Why?" she asked. "They're ugly. I wish I never had them."

"Personally, I think they look really cute," said Mr. Martino.

This earned a blush from Kaede yet again.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"Doing what?" asked Mr. Martino.

"Being so nice to me. Nobody's ever been this nice to me. Called me cute, taken me out to dinner, and been friendly with me…why are you doing this?" she asked.

"Because when I saw you, I decided that that needed to change," said Mr. Martino. "No child deserves to grow up without a family. I decided, since I wanted a child, and you looked like you needed a family, you would be the best choice. I also picked you because, as I said, you are the best-behaved child I saw at that orphanage."

Kaede nodded, seeming to understand.

"That's enough serious talk, though," said Mr. Martino. "I brought you here so we could have fun, and eat something delicious, and that's just what we're going to do."

Kaede smiled a bit.

"Mr. Martino," said a perky voice. "I've brought your dishes."

She set a plate of rice with chicken in orange sauce in front of Mr. Martino, and a small plate with a slice of chocolate cheesecake in front of Kaede.

"Everything looks great, Koyomi," said Mr. Martino. "Before you go, though, there's something I need to ask."

"What's that?" asked Koyomi.

"Do you have any scraps in the kitchen? We have a puppy with us, and unfortunately, he wasn't able to come in."

Koyomi smiled and looked at Kaede.

"Her puppy, I take it?" she asked, rhetorically. "I'll see what I can find, Mr. Martino."

"Thanks," said Mr. Martino. "Dig in, Kaede."

For a while, the two just sat and ate. Truthfully, Kaede thought that the cake was delicious, and she actually giggled a little bit at how fast her stepfather-to-be was knocking back his chicken and rice.

Koyomi came back with their bill and a small plastic bag full of trimmed meat scraps.

"Here you are, Mr. Martino," she said, handing him both. "Just bring it to the front when you're done."

"Will do, Koyomi," he said. "Thanks."

"Thank you for coming in," she said. "As always, your patronage is appreciated. And feel free to bring this little sweetheart back anytime."

Kaede was beginning to think that there must be fire inside her at how many times she had blushed today.

As Koyomi walked away, Mr. Martino picked up the bill and scraps, and gestured for Kaede to come along as he paid the bill. After they had paid, they went back to the car, and found a really grumpy-looking Gendo waiting for them.

"What?" said Mr. Martino. "I told you we'd bring you back some food."

He opened the bag and pulled out a juicy looking trim, and held it out to the dog, who accepted it readily, seemingly forgiving them for leaving him out in the car.

"So, what now?" asked Kaede.

"Now, we go back to the orphanage and grab your things," said Mr. Martino.

"We won't be there very long," she said.

"Why's that?" asked Mr. Martino."

"I don't have that many things," she said. "I…never got any gifts, and some of my things actually got taken by other kids."

Mr. Martino heaved a sigh.

"Well, that's all going to change," he said. "We'll leave Gendo in the car again, since we won't be there long, and while I'm signing your papers, you can go start packing your things."

Kaede nodded as Mr. Martino continued to drive.

When they got to the parking lot, the two jumped out of the car.

"Hurry in!" said Mr. Martino, smiling. "The sooner we get done, the sooner we can leave."

Kaede ran through the school to her room, and pulled out what few things she had as Mr. Martino went to the front office to finish off what remained of her paperwork. Shortly after he had finished, he went down to Kaede's room and started helping her pack her things. As she said, they weren't in there very long. They brought all her stuff out, and it all easily fit in Mr. Martino's trunk. After everything was loaded, they got back in the car, and started down the driveway of the orphanage once again.

Tears started to form in Kaede's eyes, which Mr. Martino noticed after a couple of seconds.

"What's wrong, Kaede?" he asked.

Kaede wiped her eyes.

"I'm just…happy."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Kaede looked out the window for a few seconds before speaking again.

"So, what do I call you?" she asked. "Do I still call you Mr. Martino?"

"I never asked you to call me that to begin with. If you like, you can call me Joe."

Kaede nodded.

"Okay, then…Joe," she said.

Joe smiled as they got to the main road, and they drove into the city. It wasn't long before they parked in front of a medium-sized building, with several floors.

"Let's get inside," said Joe, grabbing hold of Kaede's luggage from the trunk, and allowing her to take Gendo out of the car.

As they walked in the door, the three were greeted by several of the hotel staff.

"Good evening, Mr. Martino," they all said.

As he went by, he nodded and smiled to them. He led Kaede and Gendo to the front desk, and spoke to the attendant.

"Koji, could you go ahead and have a second key to my room made and sent to me?" he asked.

"Sure thing, Mr. Martino," said the attendant. "I'll have one of the room service people bring it up."

"Thanks, Koji," said Joe.

He then led Kaede to the elevator, and the three rode up to the fifth floor, where they got off, and Joe let them into a good sized room with two beds. Inside the room was a kennel big enough for a puppy to stay in comfortably.

Kaede put Gendo down and looked around.

"Well, is there anything you'd like to do, Kaede?" he asked.

Kaede shook her head.

"I don't know," she said. "I'm… still thinking about this whole thing. Me being adopted. I never thought it would happen. It's just so big."

Joe ruffled her hair.

"I know. But don't worry. You'll get used to it," he said.

Kaede shuffled her feet.

"Would it be okay…if I just went to bed?" she asked.

Joe smiled and giggled.

"You know, I was afraid that whatever kid I ended up having would never want to go to bed," he said. "I kind of feel bad that I worried so much. Sure, you can go to bed."

Kaede dug into her luggage and pulled out some pajamas, went to the bathroom and changed. She came out and climbed into the bed. She pulled the covers over herself, but then Joe came over and pulled them over her a little tighter, and tucked her in. He fluffed her pillow and ruffled her hair again before walking away from the bed.

Kaede was now re-thinking her decision to go to sleep. She looked at Joe with pleading eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm scared now…scared that I'm going to wake up and have this all be a dream…that I'll be back at the orphanage tomorrow," said Kaede.

With a smile, Joe got ready and climbed into his own bed next to hers.

"Both Gendo and I will be here when you wake up," he said. "I promise."

Saying this, he turned off the light beside his bed, and lay down.

Kaede decided that even if she did wake up back at the orphanage, at least she would have had a really good dream for once. She closed her eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.

To Be Continued.

A/N: WHOO! That was a long one. Sorry I've been gone so long, everybody. Hopefully this will send the message that I'm still writing. But I do want to apologize for not updating any of my stories first. I wanted to try and get at least some of my ideas down for this story and posted before I do anything else. But I want to promise you guys, even though this doesn't seem to be going anywhere fast, there will be plenty of action in this story later on, and you can definitely expect to see both of our favorite Assassins in the story. Catch you guys later!


	2. A Friend

"Assassin's Creed: Elf Song"

By cdc100

Summary: As a child, Kaede is adopted, and now has a loving family. However, when her new father is kidnapped, she must learn the ways of the Assassins in order to save him.

Disclaimer: This is a work of pure non-profit fan fiction. I do not own any of the characters, their weapons, their abilities, or any of their universes, nor do I own any of the lyrics that will appear in later chapters, or any of the products mentioned in the story such as Coca-Cola, or PlayStation.

Chapter Two

"A Friend"

The next morning, Kaede woke up to find that her environment was the same as the previous night, only brighter. She looked up to see that the television in the room was on, and was playing some cartoons. She could see Gendo sound asleep inside the kennel on the floor. She was startled from her examination by a voice.

"Well, look who decided to wake up," said Joe, coming out of the bathroom wearing only a towel and a smile. "How did you sleep?" he asked.

Kaede sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes.

"Good. I slept really good," she said.

When she got done rubbing her eyes, she looked at Joe.

"And you and Gendo are both still here," she said.

"I told you we'd both be here when you woke up," said Joe, putting on some clothes.

He went over to the mirror and put on the same color of suit, but this time with a jade green dress shirt and an emerald tie. As he straightened the tie he looked into the mirror, at Kaede.

"You're awfully quiet," he said. "I hope you're feeling okay."

"I'm fine," said Kaede.

As she finished her sentence, Joe heard a loud growl. And it didn't come from Gendo.

"You're hungry, I take it?" asked Joe with a smile.

Kaede blushed a little bit.

"Yeah, I guess I am," she said.

"Well, you go get dressed and we'll go down and get some breakfast," said Joe.

Kaede inched her way out of bed, went over to the little suitcase she packed at the orphanage and fished out some clothes. She went into the bathroom and changed into a new white shirt, but with a dark blue skirt. When she came out, she found Joe holding out a jacket for her.

"Thought you might need this," said Joe. "It's kind of windy out there today."

Kaede put her arms through the jacket and zipped it up. Joe went over to one of his bags and pulled out a small strap of leather with a long, thin cord. He fastened the strap around the still-sleeping Gendo's neck. The dog woke almost instantly, and began panting in anticipation.

Joe led the dog by the cord attached to its collar, and handed the end to Kaede.

"Don't let go of the end," he said.

As they left the room, Joe took hold of the hand Kaede wasn't using to walk Gendo. They rode the elevator once again down to the lobby, and as they passed the front desk, Koji addressed Joe.

"Good morning, Mr. Martino," he said. "I trust you got the key you requested?"

"Got it this morning, Koji," said Joe with a smile. "Thank you."

Koji waved the trio goodbye, and as they walked out of the lobby, Joe turned to look at Kaede.

"So, after breakfast, do you want to do anything?" he asked.

"Um…well, not really," answered Kaede. "I can't really think of anything. Besides, I thought you'd be busy today."

Joe chuckled.

"Actually, I took care of all my scheduled business last night," he said. "Unless I get called about something else, I've got five days of vacation right now. I got an extra one because I'll need time to pack my things before I leave."

Kaede looked up at him.

"You don't live in Japan?" she asked.

"No," said Joe. "I actually live across the ocean, in the United States."

Kaede looked a little frightened.

"So, when you leave, you'll take me back with you?"

Joe ruffled her hair a bit.

"Are you scared?" he asked.

Kaede huddled close to him.

"Most people in the United States don't speak Japanese!" she said. "How am I possibly going to live there?"

Joe bent down and took Kaede's shoulders.

"You're a smart girl, Kaede," he said. "If you want to fit in, I can teach you English."

Kaede looked skeptical. Joe frowned playfully.

"Now, don't you look at me like I can't do it," he said. "I happen to be a professor."

Kaede flinched a bit, but then returned to her original skeptical look.

"Do you teach English?" she asked.

Joe chuckled again.

"Hah. I knew you'd call me on that one," he said. "I actually teach film and literature, but really, how hard could English be? It _is_ my native language after all."

Kaede shrugged.

"Okay. I guess I could try learning English from you," she said.

"Good," said Joe. "We agree. Now, let's go get some breakfast!"

He led Kaede and Gendo to the car he brought them over in and unlocked the car. After they had all got in, Joe began driving slowly down the street, seeming to be looking for some place in particular. But he apparently wasn't distracted enough to neglect his passengers, as he spoke to Kaede.

"So, you really can't think of anything you'd like to do after breakfast?" he asked her.

"Not really," she said.

"There has to be something," said Joe. "Every kid your age wants to do something. I don't imagine you're any different."

Kaede thought for a minute.

"Well," she finally said, "I've never been to a park before. I've always wanted to go."

Joe continued scanning the streets as he answered her.

"You mean like a water park? An amusement park?" he asked.

"No," said Kaede. "Just a regular park. Or a playground."

Joe seemed to think for a minute.

"Alright," he finally said. "I'm sure there are tons of places for kids to play in this town. We'll find one after breakfast."

It seemed to Kaede that Joe finally caught sight of the place he was looking for. He turned the wheel and parallel parked outside a small eating place. Unfortunately, Gendo had to wait in the car again, but once again, Joe promised he'd get some food, and so Gendo laid down in the front passenger seat, deciding to take a nap.

Joe led Kaede into the diner and they were seated, by yet another friendly waitress who seemed to know Joe. This time, instead of picking something for her, he helped her pick something out. Joe had suggested half an omelet. She knew what an omelet was, but had never tried one. However, based on her experience in his taste of food, she trusted his judgment. Joe decided on some pancakes and promised to share if the omelet wasn't enough for her.

The waitress came to the table with a smile.

"Have you decided yet?" she asked.

"Yes, Akira," he said. "I would like some pancakes, with plenty of strawberry syrup."

Akira wrote down his order and turned to Kaede.

"And what about your little darling here?" she asked.

"Could you make her a half omelet with some bacon and cheese?" asked Joe.

Akira finished taking their orders and smiled.

"Your orders should be ready in a little while, sir," she said. "Can I get you anything to drink? Juice? Milk? Coffee-"

"Milk," said Joe, cutting her off. "I hate coffee."

Akira giggled.

"And what about you, sweetie?" she asked, turning to Kaede again.

Kaede stared at the table and shrugged slightly.

"Could I…get some apple juice?" she asked.

Akira took both their menus.

"Sure thing, little darling," she said as she scooted away from the table.

Joe tried to make eye contact with Kaede as they sat waiting for their orders to be filled.

"Kaede," he began, "I hope you realize now, that not everyone in this world is as mean as those kids at the orphanage. And anyone who is that mean isn't worth remembering."

Kaede slowly looked back up at him.

"I can see that now," she said. "I just…can't really get used to it."

Joe smiled and placed a hand on her cheek.

"It's just like your being adopted by me," he said. "It's just going to take some getting used to."

Kaede smiled slightly at him.

"Joe?" she asked.

"What is it?" asked Joe.

"I want to thank you," she said. "I want to thank you for showing me what people are like outside that place. I never thought that I would leave that place…at least not with a family."

Joe giggled.

"You have nothing to thank me for," he said. "I'm sure you would have done the same for any kid if you saw the misery in their life."

His expression then turned serious.

"But Kaede," he said, "I don't want you to kid yourself. While it is true that not every person on Earth is as mean as Tomoo and his friends, there is still evil in this world."

Kaede flinched a bit.

"But," Joe continued, "the more important thing to remember, Kaede, is that although evil things happen all the time, there are still people in this world who do whatever they can to make things right."

Kaede smiled again.

"Like you," she said.

Joe chuckled again.

"I do what I can," he said.

As their food came once again, Joe scarfed down about half his pile of pancakes, and Kaede daintily ate her half omelet. After she was finished, she took Joe up on his offer to have some of his pancakes. As they finished with their food, Kaede was somewhat anxious to get to the park and see what it was like, and so Joe wasted no time in paying for their meal so that they could get going.

The two got back in the car, and as Joe drove to the park, Kaede fed Gendo some of the pancake scraps that went uneaten. Joe drove for a good fifteen minutes before he brought them to what he deemed as a promising spot.

"This should do," he said.

He pulled the car over at a parking lot, which was empty except for two cars. After he got out of the car, he went over to Kaede's door and let her and Gendo out.

"You can play here as long as you want, Kaede," he said. "I think I'm going to go for a little bit of a walk. I won't wander too far from the park, so don't you either, okay?"

Kaede nodded her head.

"Okay, Joe. I won't," she said.

"Good," said Joe with a smile. "Now, before I go, I want you to promise me something."

Kaede cocked her head to the side.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Promise me you'll have fun," he said, ruffling her hair like he always did.

Kaede smiled that small smile of hers.

"I will," she said.

With that, Joe made for an asphalt track that circled the park where he dropped his two charges. Kaede watched as Joe walked a fair distance away from the park- not quite out of sight, but not directly noticeable, and took Gendo gently by the leash and began walking him through the park.

As she got further from Joe's car, she got closer to some playground equipment. She found a slide, some swings, a jungle gym, and some monkey bars. She smiled and led Gendo to the top of the slide. She sat down at the top of the slide, tucked the dog into her lap and let gravity do its thing.

As they reached the ground, Kaede laughed and Gendo yipped happily at her. Kaede frowned slightly as she realized that she didn't know what else she wanted to do.

At that moment, Kaede was startled out of her thoughts by a light chiming sound. The sound was followed by more chimes, which linked together to form a melody. It was beautiful, but somehow…sad.

Kaede turned around and came face-to-face with a young boy. He couldn't have been much older than her. He had short black hair, blue eyes and tanned skin. He wore a green shirt and blue shorts. Over his shoulders, he wore what looked like a green lunch box. He carried a book- a paper pad of sorts, in one hand, and in the other stood a small, open music box. Kaede's attention turned to the curious-looking boy, then drifted to the music box he held in his hands.

The boy looked at her for a few moments, blinked, and then followed her eyes to the music box in his hand.

"You like it?" he asked.

"What?" asked Kaede, startled from her trance again.

The boy closed the music box, silencing the soft melody.

"Why else would you be staring?" he asked.

Kaede turned away, and suddenly acquired an edge to her voice.

"I thought…I just thought it was a pretty song, that's all," she said.

The boy smiled.

"Really?" he asked.

His expression turned curious again as he looked at Kaede. He looked in a general upward direction, and in her annoyance, Kaede knew all too well what he was looking at.

"Are those growing out of your head?" he asked, affirming Kaede's thoughts. "They look like horns!"

Kaede growled under her breath and reached up her hands to cover her horns.

"I'm sure you think my horns are disgusting, don't you?" she asked.

"What?" asked the boy.

_I am sick of this,_ thought Kaede. _I'm sick of it all! …Wait…what is this? What's happening?_

Kaede could feel something…it felt like…her. It felt like she was reaching toward the boy who bothered her so.

"That's cool!" exclaimed the boy.

Kaede let go of her horns, the feeling inside her vanished, and she turned her attention to the boy in front of her. As she did so, the boy ran up to her and grasped her shoulders gently, a smile enveloping his face, but strangely, one of kindness, and not of malice.

"They're so cool!" he said. "No way! That's totally awesome!"

At first, Kaede was flattered…

"I'm really jealous," said the boy.

Kaede's state of flattery ended with that statement. She scowled at the boy and pushed his arms away.

"You're jealous?" she spat. "You have no idea what trouble these horns have caused me."

The boy frowned.

"Uh…I'm not sure what you mean, but…I don't think I've ever seen anything that cool! I'm not kidding! I think they're great!"

Kaede turned around, away from the boy, picked Gendo up in her arms, and started to walk the other way, back toward the car.

"Leave me alone," she said. "You're not funny."

"Hey!" called the boy. "What do you think? Do you want to be friends? I'm staying with my relatives for the summer. I won't be here for long, but while I'm still in town, we should hang out and play together. How about it?"

Kaede frowned at that. He thought back to the orphanage, remembering the pigtailed girl who gained her trust, and then betrayed it. As she thought, she got angrier. She couldn't possibly trust another kid after what she nearly did to Gendo.

"You must be joking," she spat.

"What?" asked the boy. "Why's that?"

Kaede turned back and scowled once again.

"It's because I hate all of you," she said, in little more than a whisper.

She resumed walking back toward Joe's car, not noticing the disappointed expression on the boy's face.

"You hate all of us?" he asked.

He paused, but then yelled after her.

"Hold on!" he said. "Listen! My name is Kohta! Same time tomorrow, I'll be waiting for you right here! Don't forget to come! I'll be here, I promise!"

Kaede looked at the ground, and scoffed at the boy's promise. Gendo moaned in her arms, sensing the tension she felt.

"Don't worry, Gendo," she said. "I'm fine. I'm just tired of all these stupid people who think they can use me like that."

As she walked back to the car, she saw Joe returning himself. Unlike most times, however, he wasn't smiling.

"You don't look like you had fun here, Kaede," he said. "Is everything okay?"

Kaede set Gendo on the ground and led him to the passenger side of Joe's car.

"It's nothing, Joe," she said. "I just want to go back to your room."

Joe shrugged.

"Sure, Kaede," he said. "I'll bring you back here another time, alright?"

Kaede nodded and plopped herself and her dog into the passenger seat. Joe hadn't driven the car very long before they had arrived back at their hotel. The three got out of the car and went silently back to the room, where Kaede flung her jacket off and into the small armchair in the corner, and plopped onto her bed, face-first.

Joe noticed this, and shook his head. He sat down on one side of the bed and placed his hand on Kaede's head.

"I already asked you once, Kaede," he said. "And I know you don't want to bother me, but I would really prefer that you tell me the truth this time. Is everything okay?"

Kaede silently shook her head, not removing her face from the mattress.

"What's wrong?" asked Joe.

Kaede lifted her head up, but only enough that her words would escape her mouth.

"I met another kid at the playground," she said.

Joe quirked an eyebrow.

"Were they mean to you?" he asked.

Kaede heaved a sigh.

"No. They were…nice."

Joe brushed her hair gently with his fingers.

"Why do you look so miserable, then?" he asked.

Kaede shook her head with another heavy sigh.

"Joe…" she said, "that girl at the orphanage…the one who set me and Gendo up…she was nice to me, too."

Joe stopped his movements.

"I see," he said.

He picked Kaede up gently, and pulled her into a light hug.

"I can see why it would be hard for you to trust the kid after that," he said. "But you remember what I said before, right?"

Kaede nodded her head.

"Also…I get the feeling that if you were set on never trusting…whoever they are, I don't think that you would be this bothered by it," said Joe.

Kaede looked at the floor of their hotel room.

"They…want me to meet them at the park tomorrow," she said. "Same time as today."

Joe nodded his head.

"How about this, then?" he asked. "I'll take you there to meet them, but I'll go ahead and keep Gendo with me while you two meet up. That way, you don't have to worry about him getting hurt."

Kaede looked back up at Joe.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

Joe chuckled.

"Is that going to become a regular question with you?" he asked.

Kaede scoffed.

"I mean, why do you want me to meet them?" she asked. "They could turn out to be just as mean as those kids."

Joe frowned.

"Because like I said before," he said, "not everyone is as mean as them. I know that the world hasn't been kind to you, Kaede. But sometimes, the world deserves a second chance. Sometimes, it deserves a chance to earn your forgiveness. Every person in the world shouldn't miss out on having you for a friend just because some lowlifes screw up that chance for them."

Kaede shook her head again.

"But why would anyone want me for a friend?" she asked. "I'm so different. I look different from everybody else, and I feel different."

Joe hugged her a little tighter.

"We all have our differences, Kaede," he said. "Some differences are just easier to hide than others. But even if they're not, our being different doesn't have to be a bad thing. Quite the opposite. Being different can often be a good thing. And if you ever find yourself with a true friend- scratch that- _when_ you find yourself with a true friend, they won't care about your differences, no matter what they are or how big they might be."

Kaede pushed herself in towards Joe and hugged him back.

"Hey," he said. "It'll be okay. You'll see."

Kaede pushed away from Joe to look up at him.

"Will you…take me to see him?" she asked.

Joe narrowed his eyes a bit.

"'Him?'" he asked.

Kaede blushed slightly.

"Yeah," she said. "The kid that I met…is a boy."

"Oh…" said Joe, smiling a bit. "Really?"

Kaede scowled.

"Will you stop?" she asked. "It's not like that."

Joe chuckled.

"Okay," he said. "Alright, I'll go ahead and take you there tomorrow. Same time."

"But what will you do while I'm gone?" asked Kaede.

Joe laughed a bit.

"Kaede, I may not always be busy, but I always have something to do," he said.

As if to emphasize his point, he placed Kaede gently on her bed, went over to the desk in the corner of the room, and opened up a laptop. After flicking the "on" switch, he waited for it to start by going over to the bedside table and picking up the TV remote. He then clicked on the television. He flipped through the channels as the content of his laptop started to load.

"Come on…every channel in this country is news, I swear," he said.

Finally he stopped flipping, coming to a cartoon depicting a bunch of giant robots.

"Yes!" exclaimed Joe. "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. Awesome."

He went over to his laptop, which had finally finished loading, and pulled up a document, on which he started to type furiously.

As he typed, he took side glances at the show that was playing on the TV.

"Joe?" asked Kaede, startling him slightly.

"Yeah, Kaede? What's up?" he asked, not taking his attention away from the computer.

"What is this?" she asked.

"What's what?" asked Joe.

Kaede simply pointed to the TV.

"What is this on the TV?" she asked.

"'What is-'" he started, but then cut himself off. "You've never heard of the Gundam series?"

Kaede blushed and shook her head. Joe laughed a bit.

"Hey, don't worry about it," he said. "If you haven't heard of it, I'll tell you about it later. Right now, just watch the show."

Kaede nodded her head and watched the show, fascinated. It was interesting to see what the robots could do. It kept her well-distracted from everything that had been bothering her up to this point. After a while, though, she got curious about what Joe was doing on his laptop.

"Joe?" she asked.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"What are you doing, exactly?" she asked.

"I'm writing down some ideas that I had for my next book," he said. "besides teaching film and literature, I also write books."

Kaede was even more curious now.

"Have you written anything I would have read?" she asked.

Joe shrugged.

"I highly doubt it," he said. "Most of my books are geared more toward adults and young adults. I'll let you read them at some point, if you want."

Kaede smiled.

"Thanks," she said, returning her attention to the TV.

Gendo hopped up on the bed and sat with Kaede for the last five minutes of the show. She stroked his fur while he kept his eyes glued to the TV, just like her.

As a new show came on, Joe closed his laptop and kicked off his shoes. He loosened his tie and carelessly threw his jacket onto the office chair in front of the desk before plopping down on the bed next to Kaede's. He turned his attention to her and saw her stroke Gendo as the dog wagged his tail.

"You know, eventually, we're going to have to take him in to the vet," he said.

"What for?" asked Kaede, somewhat apprehensive.

"Just for a check-up," said Joe, turning the volume on the TV down a little. "I'd like to make sure he isn't sick at all before we bring him to the U.S."

Kaede looked confused.

"But he looks fine," she said.

"Yeah, he does," said Joe. "But there are some sicknesses that dogs can get that don't really show symptoms. He's been fine so far, so I'm not too worried. But I think it'd be a good idea to make sure."

Kaede nodded.

"Okay," she said.

As they stayed in the room for the day, Joe sent for lunch and dinner from the hotel staff. When lunch came, they each had some pizza, which Kaede never tried before, but thoroughly enjoyed. The only thing she didn't care for was the crust end, which she fed to Gendo. When it was time for dinner, Joe ordered out for some usual Japanese take-out. Joe had some brown rice with teriyaki beef strips, while Kaede had white rice with chicken in orange sauce. Each time they ordered food, she was surprised at how generously Joe tipped the deliverers.

They watched a few more cartoons before Kaede decided to go to bed. She went to the bathroom and showered, put on her pajamas and then climbed into the bed. Joe set a sleep timer on the TV, so that the two of them could watch cartoons until they both fell asleep.

* * *

><p>The next day, Joe, Kaede and Gendo left their room, and had breakfast at the same place they had it the previous day. After they were done, they all got in the car, and Joe drove to the park once again. Today, he wore a ruby tie with an orange dress shirt.<p>

"So, when do I get to hear this kid's name?" asked Joe.

Kaede looked at him, then back out the side window.

"His name is Kohta. He says he's staying with some relatives over the summer."

Joe grunted in acknowledgement.

"I see. Well, I hope that you two have fun today," he said.

With that, he took a brief glance up at the sky. Clouds were forming above, and they looked like they could drop buckets and buckets of water.

"I hope you guys are able to enjoy today," said Joe. "because those clouds don't look too friendly."

Kaede nodded her head.

"We'll be fine, Joe," she said.

After she said that, the two continued to ride the car in silence until Joe pulled up to the park, and brought Gendo out on a leash.

"I'll take Gendo for a walk," he said.

He went to the back of his car, and opened it, bringing out two coats, slipping one on and handing the other to Kaede.

"You'd better take this," he said. "I don't want you to get too wet if it really does start raining. Good luck, honey."

With that, Joe took the end of Gendo's leash and led him to the track he had used the day before.

"Thank you, Joe," said Kaede, more to herself than to her guardian.

She turned toward the park and walked to the playground equipment. When she got to the swings, she took a seat. She didn't kick off the ground or anything, but merely waited.

As Kaede sat and waited, she thought about everything that had transpired since Joe came into her life. She was now away from the orphanage, people were being nice to her, the dog that she rescued was loved very heavily, and this boy that she ran into, Kohta…he seemed genuine; as though he really wanted to be her friend. However, her mind kept seesawing between Joe's advice about human nature, and her experience with her false best friend and three worst enemies. As she thought about these, she felt something. It was that familiar sense of something coming out of her in some way. It felt like her anger and her distrust were being channeled out of her through her back… and this voice…a friendly, but somehow evil voice, was telling her to take her revenge on the world…it told her that Joe, Kohta, and possibly even Gendo, would one day betray her, so it would be better to get rid of them before that happens. She did nothing to contradict what that voice was telling her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of thunder crashing up above. She looked to see that Joe was right about the weather conditions. She looked at the ground in front of her in anger.

"You promised," she said. "You said you'd be here, but you're not!"

Soon after her outburst, she felt water start to fall on top of her. The water seemed to have the effect of putting out the flaming anger that had just rose, but also dampened her mood down to what she felt the day before Joe adopted her. She closed her eyes and just let the rain fall on top of her.

"I know. There's no way he's coming," she said.

Suddenly, without warning, she felt something fuzzy being shoved over her head, stopping at her forehead. She yelped in response.

"Here you go!" she heard a voice say.

She turned around to see the smiling, friendly face of Kohta.

"If those horns are giving you trouble, maybe you should hide them," he said.

Kaede felt the hat that he put on her. It was a beanie. She surveyed Kohta for a moment. She noticed two things: One, unlike her, he wasn't wearing a coat. Two, his knee was sporting a mild gash.

"Did you hurt your knee?" she asked.

Kohta placed his hand on said knee.

"Oh, I banged it while I was sneaking out of the house," he said, dismissively.

"You had to sneak out?" asked Kaede.

Kohta looked back up at her.

"I hit it when I tried to jump into a tree from the second story window," he said. "Dad didn't want me to go outside. He said there were some weird things happening in town. People being killed all over the place."

Kaede gasped. She was less than half surprised that there were people being hurt, and more than half surprised that Kohta snuck out of his house, against his father's wishes, just for a chance to see her.

Kohta got up and led Kaede out of the rain, and underneath some of the playground equipment, where it was relatively dry.

"The rain…it's really coming down," he said.

He turned his attention to her, genuine curiosity on his face.

"Hey. What were you doing out here yesterday?" he asked.

"Nothing, really," said Kaede.

Kohta merely grunted in response.

"What about you?" asked Kaede. "Why did you want to…um…"

"What?" pressed Kohta.

"Make friends with… someone like me?" finished Kaede.

To respond to that, Kohta pulled out the tablet he'd been carrying with him.

"Okay," he said with a smile.

He opened the book to a particular page and showed it to his companion. Kaede could see a very pretty coloring of the mountains in the distance.

"I like drawing," said Kohta. "I came to the mountain to sketch yesterday. It's usually empty up here. But there you were. You looked so lonely somehow."

Kaede looked at the boy in awe, but then turned her head away.

"I don't need your sympathy," she said.

"And then there was this," said Kohta, pulling out his music box as well.

Kaede looked at it as Kohta smiled and lifted the lid, causing the song, which, by looking at the lid, Kaede learned was entitled "Lilium," to play.

"I've always loved this song," said Kohta. "I was happy that you liked it, too."

For a while, the two just sat beneath the playground equipment, listening to the music box. Kaede started to shiver after a while, even with the coat that Joe had given her.

"It's cold, isn't it?" asked Kohta.

"Yeah," said Kaede.

After a couple of moments, Kohta scooted closer to Kaede, which caused her to jump a bit.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

Kohta merely smiled.

"It's a good way to stay warm," he said. "You don't want to catch a cold."

Kaede didn't know what to think. She merely blushed. She was thankful that this boy, who she hardly knew, cared that much about her well-being. She closed her eyes and scooted in closer to him as well.

"Thanks for the hat," she said.

The two sat there for until the rain stopped coming down, which didn't take too long, but to the two of them seemed like forever.

Eventually, the two of them stepped out from under the equipment, Kohta helping Kaede to her feet after he got out.

"Do you want to play again sometime?" asked Kohta.

Kaede smiled.

"Oh, yeah," she said.

"Well, great," said Kohta, waving to her and then running from the playground.

Kaede looked after the boy as he ran away. She smiled at the realization that Joe was right after all. Perhaps she could give the world a second chance and she might be rewarded for it.

Kaede heard a voice calling.

"Kaede!" it yelled.

It sounded like Joe. With that, Kaede ran back in the direction of the car.

Upon seeing Kaede, Joe started to speak.

"Oh, hey. Have you seen a- Kaede?" he asked, a little confused.

"What is it?" asked Kaede.

"Uh…what's with the hat?" asked Joe.

"Oh!" exclaimed Kaede.

She reached up on top of her head and pulled it off.

"Do you not like it?" she asked, frowning.

"No, that's not it," said Joe. "I just didn't expect it. That's all. Did Kohta give it to you?"

Kaede blushed.

"Yeah. Yesterday, I told him that these horns have been nothing but trouble. He gave it to me so I could hide them."

Joe smiled.

"So, I take it you guys had fun?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "He showed me some drawings that he did. And we listened to a music box he carries with him."

"Oh, nice," said Joe, opening the doors to the car and gesturing for her to get in.

She found Gendo waiting for her as Joe got in next to her and turned over the engine.

"We didn't stay out for too long," he said. "Gendo was getting ticked at me for making him get all wet."

Kaede chuckled a bit as the dog shook some remaining moisture out of his fur. She took off her coat and wrapped it around him as Joe pulled out of the parking lot.

"So, Kohta was nice, then, huh?" asked Joe.

"He was," said Kaede. "He made sure that I didn't catch a cold in the rain. And, you know what?"

"What?" asked Joe.

"He snuck out of his house just to come see me," said Kaede.

Joe smiled.

"Wow. He really is nice."

"Um, Joe? You won't tell his parents he snuck out, will you?" asked Kaede.

"No, I won't," said Joe.

His eyes widened slightly as they came to a stop sign, and he turned to look at Kaede.

"Now, don't get any ideas that I'll be okay with it if you decide to sneak out of the house," he said. "Because I won't."

"But Joe," said Kaede. "I don't have any reason to sneak out of the house."

"You say that now," said Joe, as the light turned green, "but in about five years, I'll know otherwise."

"What do you mean?" asked Kaede.

"Well, every boy in school will want to date you, and you won't always say no," said Joe.

Kaede scoffed and shook her head. In a few moments she turned toward Joe again.

"Um…Joe?" she asked. "Would it be okay if I went by myself tomorrow?"

"Oh boy," said Joe. "I knew something like this might happen."

Kaede shrunk down into the seat as Joe took a turn that she didn't recognize.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Crazy," said Joe, deliberately not answering Kaede's question. They drove a couple of blocks before arriving at a small store, which sported a giant red checkmark as part of its logo.

"Come on, Kaede," said Joe, stepping out of the car. "You'll have to leave Gendo again."

"I don't think he'll complain," said Kaede. "But what are we doing here?"

After shutting the door, Kaede followed Joe into the storefront, which she then noticed sported pictures of cell phones all over.

"Can I help you sir?" a man at one of the counters asked Joe.

Joe made Kaede go look around as he spoke to the man. Kaede merely walked away from the counter, but stayed in one spot, not really paying attention to anything. It wasn't long before Kaede felt a tap on the shoulder.

"Come on, Kaede. Let's go," said Joe.

She followed him back out to the car, and once they were both inside, Joe set a small box on her lap.

"What is this?" asked Kaede, as Gendo started teething at a corner of the box.

"Well, first, let me tell Gendo what it's not: a chewtoy," said Joe.

Gendo grumbled under his breath.

"Okay," said Joe. "Now, to answer you, I am not going to let a girl that I just took out of a bad environment risk her life out on the town, on her own, without her own cell phone."

Kaede was shocked.

"A cell phone?" she asked. "Just for me?"

"Don't get too excited," said Joe, smiling. "It's for emergencies only."

Kaede started to pull the box apart, taking the contents out and seeing the phone was a small pink-lined device.

"Thank you, Joe," she said.

Joe smiled and patted her head, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Like I said, though. It's for emergencies only," he said. "However, as long as you keep that on you at all times, I don't care where you go, just as long as you keep it on, and I can reach you. And every time you decide you want to go someplace new, you call me and tell me."

Kaede smiled.

That night, they did the same thing at the hotel. They watched TV until they fell asleep, with Joe occasionally opening his laptop and putting in a new story idea.

* * *

><p>The next few days, Kaede abided by Joe's wishes and brought her cell phone along with her to the same spot where she met Kohta. She even wore that hat he gave her. However, he was absent on all but the third day, on which he came up a path leading to the slide, where Kaede was sitting.<p>

"It's been three days," said Kaede, not noticing Kohta. "I wonder if he isn't coming back."

However, to counter that thought, she heard rustling. She looked up and saw the boy standing a good ways from her. She smiled.

"Have you been waiting for me?" he yelled.

Kaede frowned and blushed at that.

"I-I wasn't really waiting!" she exclaimed, turning away from him.

"I was hoping I would run into you here," said Kohta, coming up behind her. "I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye."

Kaede frowned at the news.

"I see…" she said.

"I thought it'd be nice if we hang out together all day," said Kohta.

"Hang out together?" asked Kaede, turning to him.

Kohta smiled and led Kaede away from the playground, to a station that held a strange vehicle on it… well, strange to her. Kohta paid someone at a booth for some tickets on the bus. He and Kaede got on, and were the only two riding it. Kaede took her phone out of her pocket and started typing on it.

"What are you doing?" asked Kohta, looking at her phone.

"Oh, uh…" Kaede trailed off, "I'm just sending a message. I'm telling someone where I'm going, just in case they start to wonder where I am."

"I see," said Kohta, smiling.

As they rode, Kohta started to talk about a place called the "zoo," which, by his description, didn't sound all that fun to Kaede.

"Are you serious?" asked Kohta. "You've never been to the zoo?"

"Is it fun looking at the stupid animals?" asked Kaede, remembering what the kids at the orphanage used to call her.

"Yeah," said Kohta, smiling. "It's fun. Really. These are animals you can't see anywhere else. My favorite part is looking at the really strange ones."

Kaede kept her eyes at the ground in frustration.

"I'm not interested," she whispered. "Stupid animals…"

However, when the two of them got to the zoo…

"WOW!" exclaimed Kaede, beaming at a large, gray animal with a long nose and huge ears. "What is that thing? He's so big! He's huge! How did he ever get this big?"

The elephant she was looking at then let out a trumpeting bellow.

"WOOOOOOW!" exclaimed Kaede, giggling. However, after a moment, she stopped herself, and looked back to see Kohta looking at her, dumbfounded. But he quickly smiled nervously at her. Kaede scowled as they walked away from the elephant's cage.

"It's not like I'm having fun," she said, defiantly. "He just surprised me, that's all, an- WHOA! Look at that neck!"

She spotted a tall yellow animal with a long neck, and ran up to its cage.

"How did he get such a long neck?" she asked. "It's amazing! I can't believe it!"

"I've never seen someone get so excited about giraffes and elephants," said Kohta, more to himself than to anyone.

After a while of looking at the animals, Kohta led Kaede to a bench, near a food vender. He went up to the vender and got two cups of a strange pink substance with spoons. He came up to her and handed her one.

"Here you go," he said as she took it. "My dad gave me a little extra allowance today, so everything is on me."

Kaede took a spoonful of the substance into her mouth. She smiled.

"This is good," she said, earning a smile from Kohta. "But it's a little cold."

"Of course," said Kohta. "It's made from ice."

After they were finished, they put their cups in a nearby trash bin. Kohta took Kaede's hand in his.

"Hey, let's look around a little more," he said.

Kaede smiled.

"Sure," she said.

Kohta started to lead her down the walkway they were on. Kaede looked at Kohta. She liked how nice he was to her. She placed her other hand on his, causing him to look back at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Kaede didn't answer for a long time.

"Tomorrow…what time are you leaving?" she asked.

"I think we're leaving at night," said Kohta. "Or we're taking a night train, anyway. Before that, I'm going to a festival with my cousin."

Kaede let go of his hand.

"Okay," she said.

Finally, they came to a map of the area they were in, and Kohta took a look at it.

"Okay, so where do you want to go next?" he asked. "This place is so big, it's hard to choose."

Kaede again didn't answer him, though. She overheard some people talking, not far from them.

"Did you hear?" asked a man. "There was another one of those murders."

Kaede turned her attention to the voice and found a woman speaking with a man.

"This is the third one, right?" asked the woman. "It's getting kind of scary."

"What have the police been doing?" asked the man. "It's a joke!"

Kaede bit her lip.

_I wonder if these are the murders Kohta was talking about,_ she thought. _They must have deserved it, though, on some level. Wait, they deserved it? Did I just say that? What is wrong with me? Why am I judging people like this?_

As she stood there, thinking, she suddenly wasn't where she had been. She was in a dark plane, surrounded by mannequin-like figures, covered in bandages. She heard a voice speak back in response to her thoughts. The same voice that told her that Joe, Kohta and Gendo would someday betray her…

_It's because you want to kill,_ it said, in a low, echoed voice, _isn't it?_

_I don't!_ Kaede thought, defiantly. But the voice was persistent.

_If you don't kill first, the humans will kill you,_ it said. _It's only a matter of time._

_But that's not an excuse_, said Kaede. _I can't kill people who haven't done anything wrong…What am I saying? I can't kill anybody!_

_You should know by now,_ said the voice,_ that it is your destiny to take human life…_

Kaede put her hands on her head.

"SHUT UP!" she exclaimed.

"What?" asked Kohta.

Kaede looked around. She was back at the park with Kohta.

"Oh. Sorry, it's nothing," she said.

She took her hands off her head and looked away from Kohta.

"I'm just a little tired, because it's so hot," she said.

Kohta smiled.

"Well, then, I know where we can cool off," he said.

Kaede was confused, but didn't have time to question Kohta, as the boy took her hand and led her to a stream, not far from the park, but far enough that people wouldn't bother to come looking for them. It was a very shallow stream, and very beautiful. Kaede smiled upon seeing it. She placed her phone down on one of the rocks next to the stream, took off her shoes and socks, and took a step in.

"Wow," she said. "The water feels so good."

She stood there, reveling in the cool water until she heard Kohta speak.

"Hey," he said.

As Kaede turned her head, her face was met with a huge splash of water. Kohta giggled and pointed at her.

"Your face is dirty!" he said.

Kaede narrowed her eyes and smiled mirthlessly back at him. She lunged at him, using both her hands to knock him backwards, into the water.

She put her hands on her hips and giggled as Kohta picked himself back up.

"Now, it looks like you're the one who needs a bath," she said.

Kohta grunted, leaned forward, and pulled Kaede's feet out from under her, knocking her into the water, and putting his own hands on his hips.

"That was payback," he said.

"You started it!" exclaimed Kaede, kicking one of her legs and splashing Kohta again.

When she got back up, the two of them started splashing each other with water over and over again. Finally, however, they got tired of it, and walked out of the water together, sopping wet and laughing like mad. However, their laughter was cut short when Kohta sneezed.

It was then that they came to a realization. The two of them had gotten too wet to ride the bus. They blushed as they realized that they needed to dry out their clothes. The two of them stood back to back, both of them agreeing not to look, and pulled their clothes off, setting them on the rocks to dry. When they were done, the two of them sat on the ground, back to back.

"We won't be able to ride the bus until our clothes are dry," said Kohta, after sneezing again.

Kaede looked up at the sky mournfully. She was hoping today would never end.

"So…today's the day we say goodbye, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah," Kohta said, sadly.

After a moment of silence, Kohta started to hum the tune to Lilium. Kaede leaned forward, depressed.

After listening to him humming for a bit, Kaede turned to face Kohta.

"Kohta?" she asked.

Kohta turned slightly to hear her better, only to see her facing him fully. He yelped and turned the other direction.

"In my whole life, I've never had as much fun as I've had today," said Kaede. "Never in my whole life. Nothing even comes close."

Kohta scoffed.

"You're exaggerating," he said.

"I'll never forget about today," said Kaede. "Not for the rest of my life."

She leaned her head forward to rest on Kohta's shoulder, causing the boy to jump.

After a while, their clothes had dried out. The two got dressed and went to the bus station, where they rode back to the park. On the ride back, they were mostly silent. After a while, Kaede broke the silence.

"Kohta?" she asked.

The boy turned his head to show that she had his attention.

"You know… that festival you're going to?" asked Kaede.

"Yeah?" said Kohta.

"Do you think…do you think it'd be a problem if I came with you?" she asked.

"Oh," Kohta said, turning away. "I'm sorry."

He paused for a minute, and Kaede was slightly disappointed.

"I've already made a promise that I would go with my cousin," he said.

"I see," said Kaede. "That's how things go, I guess."

Kohta turned his attention back to her.

"I'm really sorry," he said. "If I hadn't made that promise-"

"Don't worry about it, Kohta," said Kaede, still focusing on the floor of the bus. "So, this cousin of yours…she's a girl, right?"

As she finished the question, the bus hit a large bump, sending Kaede falling into Kohta's lap. She blushed at the contact.

"Are you okay?" asked Kohta.

"Yeah," said Kaede, allowing Kohta to set her back up.

"So, what were you talking about?" asked Kohta.

"Oh, nothing," said Kaede, resigned.

_A cousin? Kohta must be taking another girl to the festival,_ she heard a voice say.

It was that creepy voice again.

_You'd hate it if that happened, wouldn't you? It would break your heart, wouldn't it?_

She was off in that dark place again. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a figure with its head covered in bandages, on every part except its left eye.

_Stop fooling around, _said Kaede, in a small voice.

_If he breaks your heart, it seems to me… that it's only fair if you kill him…_

_That's not fair at all!_ screamed Kaede.

_If you kill him now…he won't get a chance to break your heart. It's just that simple._

Kaede put her hands on her head again.

_Shut up! Who the hell are you?_

_As if you didn't know…_

Kaede opened her eyes, and saw Kohta beneath her, being strangled. As she followed the hands around his neck, she realized that they belonged to her.

"I…I can't breathe," he said, straining.

Kaede let go of his neck, unnerved. Kohta sat back up, sputtering.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Are you alright?"

"Hey, you scared me," said Kohta. "What's with you all of a sudden?"

Kaede put her hands over her eyes and turned away from him.

"Kohta," she said.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Will you do me a favor?" asked Kaede in a trembling voice. "If I start killing people…if I can't stop myself from doing it…"

Kohta couldn't look more confused. Kaede uncovered her eyes and looked at Kohta in a pleading way.

"Kohta," she said, with tears in her eyes, "I want you to kill me."

"What?" asked Kohta.

Kaede buried her face in her hands again.

"Nothing," she said, her voice starting to crack.

Finally, the bus came to a stop, and Kohta led Kaede off, and brought her to a long set of stairs, beyond which was a glorious view of the ocean as the sun set.

"I really love the view of the ocean from up here," said Kohta.

"Thank you for today, Kohta," said Kaede.

Kohta smiled.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "I also had a lot of fun today. I really did."

Kaede turned to face him and smiled. She faced back forward, and started humming the tune to Lilium, which Kohta joined in with a few seconds after.

After a while of standing, looking at the ocean, the two faced each other.

"Well, I'm coming back next year," said Kohta. "I'll see you again."

Kaede didn't want to ask it again, but she just needed to know.

"Hey, Kohta?" she asked.

"What is it?" asked Kohta.

Kaede looked down and blushed.

"That cousin you're taking to the festival tomorrow? Did you say it was a boy? Or was it a girl?" she asked.

Kouta seemed to hesitate for a second.

"My cousin's a boy," he said.

Kaede looked at him and smiled.

"Oh, okay," she said. "That's great. Then… tomorrow…tomorrow night, I'll come see you off at the station, alright?"

"What?" asked Kohta.

"Bye!" exclaimed Kaede, running down the steps. She had called Joe earlier to let him know where to meet her.

As she ran down the steps, she thought about everything that happened that day. She couldn't wait to see Kohta again, even if it was only for a few minutes. But he did promise that she would see him again. So, she had that to look forward to. When she reached the bottom of the steps, she found Joe, Gendo and their car already waiting for her.

"Hey, Kaede," said Joe.

"Hey, Joe!" exclaimed Kaede, as she came to the bottom of the steps, still smiling.

"You look really happy," said Joe, smiling. "You must have had a lot of fun today."

"I did," said Kaede, getting into the passenger seat and letting Gendo into her lap.

As Joe got in and started the car, he smiled in Kaede's direction.

"Gendo's been wondering where you went all day," he said. "Had to run him around the block a few times before he settled down."

Kaede chuckled. However, shortly after, she frowned.

After a while of driving, Joe finally took notice of the frown on Kaede's face, and produced his own.

"Okay, spill it," he said. "What's wrong?"

Kaede looked down beneath the glove compartment. She sighed, deciding there was no point in hiding it.

"Kohta leaves tomorrow night…" she said. "I wanted to go with him to the festival he's going to tomorrow before he leaves, but he said he's taking his cousin to it."

Joe nodded.

"I see," he said. "Well, I guess I know what we're doing tomorrow night."

Kaede looked at him.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Tomorrow after breakfast, we'll get you a yukata so you can go to that festival," said Joe with a smile.

"But…Kohta said he's going with his cousin!" said Kaede. "I'll be intruding on him."

"No you won't," said Joe. "Just because he can be there with someone other than you doesn't mean you can't be there. Besides, you'll be going with me and Gendo. We'll be your dates."

Kaede blushed at that.

"Are you sure?"

"Hundred percent," said Joe. "Besides, who says that you only have to have fun with the person you go to the festival with, huh?"

Kaede smiled.

"Okay," she said. "Sounds good."

With that settled, the three of them drove back to the hotel. They decided to go to bed early that night, so that they would have plenty of time to look for a yukata for Kaede.

* * *

><p>The next day, Joe took Kaede to a shop not far from the hotel which specialized in traditional Japanese clothing. They were led to where all the yukatas were, and Kaede picked out several of them. Joe and Gendo waited in front of the dressing room as Kaede came out dressed in each yukata. After a while, she decided on a violet one with red blossom-like patterns.<p>

"Good choice," said Joe, clapping his hands.

Gendo barked in agreement.

Joe brought the yukata that Kaede picked out to the front and paid for it. When it was put on its hanger and wrapped up, the three drove back to the hotel, where Joe looked up directions to the festival. Kaede, in the meantime, was making sure that she knew how to properly put on the yukata. She still had not entirely figured out the obi, and so Joe had to look up directions on how to tie it. After a few tries, he got it right, and so Kaede sat on the bed, with her yukata done up so that she didn't have to figure it out later.

Kaede looked down at the hat that Kohta gave her, and looked at herself in the mirror.

"You want to wear that, Kaede?" asked Joe.

"Yeah," said Kaede. "I know it'll clash with my yukata, but I don't want…I don't want anybody to see my horns."

Joe patted her head.

"Wear whatever you like, Kaede," he said. "I don't think it'll make too big a difference if you want to use a gift your friend gave you."

Without any more hesitation, Kaede slipped the hat on, pulling it over her horns.

After they both knew they were ready, Kaede spent the time before the festival talking about the things she and Kohta had done the previous day. Joe didn't ask, but she was sure he was curious. And this man took her in, so she figured he at least deserved _some_ details. She even spared a few details as they got into the car and drove to the festival's location.

Once there, Kaede looked in her side mirror and took a deep breath.

"Don't worry, Kaede," said Joe. "You look perfect. And me and Gendo will be with you."

Kaede smiled and nodded, summoning up her courage and opening her door. Joe took Kaede by the hand and put Gendo's leash in her other hand.

For a while, the three of them stopped at some booths, paying certain amounts of money to play games and take souvenirs. Joe brought a small bag and put each prize and souvenir into it. After a while, Kaede fell into the mood of the festival. She was no longer bothered about her appearance. What's more, nobody was stopping to stare at the top of her head. She smiled, and started to scan the crowd.

"Joe?" she asked.

"What's up?" asked Joe.

"Would it be alright if I went to look for Kohta?" asked Kaede.

Joe looked down.

"Sure," he said. "Me and Gendo will catch up to you in a few minutes. I'm not leaving this booth until I get you a really good prize."

Kaede smiled.

"I'll be happy with whatever you get me, Joe," she said.

With that, she walked away from the booth, and started looking around the crowd. It wasn't long before she found her friend, but what she saw shocked her.

"No!" exclaimed a girl with short, light brown hair. She had her arms wrapped around Kohta, and was squeezing him tight.

"Stop being dumb, Yuka," he said. "Other people can see us!"

"We won't be able to see each other for so long! Not until next summer!" exclaimed the girl as Kohta gently pushed her away from him.

The girl had tears in her eyes, and Kohta gently stroked her head.

"Hey, come on, now," said Kohta. "Don't cry."

Kaede trembled.

"But, why?" she asked.

It was then that a man came up behind her and bumped into her, knocking her face-first into the ground.

"Stupid kid! You're in the way!" he yelled, walking past her.

Kaede didn't even register the bump, as she was reeling from what she just saw.

"I see…Kohta already loves somebody…" she said.

Just as she was thinking, she was suddenly back in that dark place. She saw Kohta looking down at her with a sneer.

_I told you…I like watching weird animals,_ he said. _That's all I went to see you for. I could never fall for a girl with horns._

Kaede felt herself crying... She now felt she had no hope of ever finding true love… and if Kohta could betray her like this, what about Joe?

As she sat there crying, she felt a pat on her back. She turned to see the bandaged figure looking at her.

_You should have figured it out by now_, it said. _This world wasn't made for people like me…_

_So…what should I do about it?_ asked Kaede.

_It's so simple…_ answered the figure.

At that moment, the bandages slipped off its face…revealing it to be Kaede's face, only with an evil smile and one eye hidden beneath her bangs.

_All you have to do is remake the world-_

But the figure was cut off by a voice. It sounded distant, but Kaede recognized it as Joe.

As Kaede was thinking, she didn't realize it, but she was speaking.

"Get out of the way, you dumb brat!" said another man who'd come up behind her. "I'm sick of you street trash! Go sleep in a dumpster or something!"

In front of Kaede were two women looking down at her.

"Look at that girl," said one.

"She's so strung out on drugs, she's talking to herself," the other said.

"You sure she's the one who's high?" Kaede heard a voice say. "Because I'm wondering what the hell kind of kids you hang out with. And you…that 'dumb brat' is my daughter."

Kaede looked back up to see Joe's fierce face glaring at the women in front of Kaede and the thug who was complaining about her.

"I don't know why anyone would assume that a little girl would be doing drugs, but why you would be so rude when talking about a little girl you don't even know is a bigger mystery," he said. "It's no wonder you're both at a festival like this by yourselves. No respectable man would ask out a couple of judgmental wenches like you."

"What did you say?" asked the women, simultaneously.

"D-did I stutter?" asked Joe. "Or do you just not know what wench is? Either way, this conversation's over. Why don't you take porky here with you and get wasted?

Joe bent down and picked Kaede up off the ground.

"Are you okay, Kaede?" he asked.

Kaede frowned and looked down.

"I'm not hurt, but I'm not okay," she said.

"What's wrong?" asked Joe.

Kaede pointed over to where Kohta and the other girl were.

"I see…" said Joe.

He took her by the hand, and led her over to where they were. Kaede saw that Kohta and the other girl were still talking. When they got closer, Kohta turned towards them.

"Uh! You!" exclaimed Kohta, half-happy, half-nervous.

Kaede looked at him with a frown and a somewhat disappointed look.

"Look," said Kohta. "Listen. I promise, it's not what you think."

Kaede glared at him.

"Then, please explain it to me," she said.

"Kohta, who is this?" asked the other girl.

"Quiet, you," said Kaede.

"Kaede, that's not very nice," said Joe.

Kaede looked up at him, then back at Kohta.

"I'm sorry," she said to the girl. "Kohta…Why did you lie to me? You said that the cousin you were taking with you to the festival was a boy."

Kohta looked at the ground.

"I'm… really sorry," said Kohta. "It's just that…I knew what you wanted to hear. I knew that if I said it was a girl I was taking, you'd be disappointed. Believe me, that's the last thing I wanted! I know it was wrong, and I'm truly sorry. But I can't stand seeing you sad. Those days I met with you and you looked sad… they just tore me apart. I just wanted you to be happy."

Kaede looked at him for a long time, considering him.

Kohta got down on his knees and looked up at Kaede.

"I really am sorry," he said. "I just didn't want you to think that the time I spent with you didn't mean anything to me. Because it did."

Kaede looked at him, and her gaze softened.

"I'm sorry, too, Kohta," she said. "I'm sorry that I got mad at you like this.

Kohta got up and hugged her.

"I'll forgive you getting mad at me if you forgive me for lying to you," he said.

Kaede smiled.

"Okay," she said. With that, the two of them shook hands.

"Okay, I've waited long enough!" exclaimed the girl next to Kohta. "Who is this?"

"Oh," said Kohta. "Sorry, Yuka. This is that friend I told you, Dad and Kanae about."

"Told us about who, Kohta?" asked a voice.

The group looked behind Kohta and Yuka and saw a man carrying a little girl with a ribbon in her hair, who in turn was carrying a large stuffed bunny.

"Oh, hi, Dad!" said Kohta. "This is that friend of mine I told you about!"

Kohta's father and the little girl looked down at the girl and smiled.

"Hey there," said Kohta's father, while the little girl in his arms merely smiled and waved.

"H-hello," said Kaede.

"What's your name?" asked Kohta's father.

"My name is Kaede," she said.

"Kaede, huh?" repeated Kohta's father with a smile. "It's good to finally meet you."

He reached down and took Kaede's hand.

"Kaede," said Kohta. He groaned. "I can't believe I didn't ask about it before! That's a really pretty name!"

Kaede blushed at all the attention she was getting, but couldn't help but notice that the girl…Yuka? She seemed to be getting gradually edgy about the situation.

"Anyhow, Kaede," said Kohta. "This is my cousin, Yuka, my dad, Yoshi Hakuro, and this is my sister, Kanae."

The little girl jumped out of her father's grasp, went up to Kaede and threw her arms around her.

"It's nice to meet you!" she squeaked.

Kohta took the moment that Kaede and Kanae embraced to notice Joe, who smiled at him.

"So, you're the infamous Kohta, huh?" he asked.

Kohta looked a bit nervous in Joe's presence.

"Y-yeah. That's right," he said.

Joe bent down and offered a hand to Kohta.

"Nice to meet you," he said.

Kohta uneasily took the hand and shook it.

"It's a pleasure, sir," he answered.

"Kaede can't stop talking about you," said Joe. "She spent all this evening telling me how much fun you two have had together."

At that, Kaede blushed.

"Joe!" she exclaimed.

Joe shrugged.

"Just telling the truth, sweetheart," he said.

After the kids had all finished introducing themselves, the two adults locked eyes.

"So, you're Kaede's father?" asked Mr. Hakuro.

"Legal guardian," said Joe, smiling and reaching out a hand. "Joseph Martino. Film and Literature Professor, best-selling author. It's a pleasure."

Mr. Hakuro smiled and grabbed his hand, shaking it.

"Yoshi Hakuro. Travel agent, aspiring actor. The pleasure's all mine," he said.

As he said that, Joe suddenly lurched forward. He stumbled a bit before looking back and seeing a dazed woman wearing a lavender yukata shaking her head.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" she said, regaining her bearings.

Joe chuckled.

"See me, Mr. Hakuro?" he asked. "I'm a literal chick magnet!"

The two men laughed, causing the woman to blush.

"We're just playing," said Joe. "Can I help you with something?"

"Well, I noticed that girl with you," she said. "I thought I saw her passed out a few yards back. Is she okay?"

"She's perfectly fine. Just like you," he said, causing her to blush again.

Mr. Hakuro laughed again.

"Mr. Martino, you must be one hell of a drinking buddy," he said.

The woman was considering leaving the scene when suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Joe held her back.

"In all seriousness, miss, she is okay. And I appreciate your concern for her," he said. "What's your name?"

The woman stuttered before answering.

"My…name is Miyuki," she said.

"Are you by yourself?" asked Joe.

The woman gulped a bit.

"Yes," she said. "I didn't have anyone to come to the festival with."

Joe patted her shoulder.

"Why don't you join us?" he asked. "With all of these kids raising Cain out here, us adults need to stick together!"

Kaede chuckled at Joe's remark, and suddenly felt silly for all those things she thought. Things were just fine with her and Kohta, and his family seemed to like her well enough…though, Yuka's taste for her was questionable. She decided to remedy that situation right then and there.

She walked up to Yuka and offered her hand.

"I'm sorry that we met under these circumstances," said Kaede. "My name is Kaede, and I really hope we can be friends."

Yuka looked down at her hand for a moment, but then smiled softly.

"Okay," she said. "If Kohta can be friends with you, I guess I can."

She took her hand and shook it.

For a while, the three adults and four kids walked together. The adults talked about what was going on with their businesses while the kids just had fun. Kanae stopped everyone after a few minutes to look at Gendo. She picked him up and held him for five minutes until she had to be forced by Kohta to let him go. Everything seemed to be going fine until…

SCREEEEEEEECH!

Three large, black vans pulled up at different parts of the area. Everyone in the area, including the newly-made friends, stopped to stare at them.

A door on the side of each van opened up, and several groups of men wearing shades and black suits jumped out of them.

Everyone was now alarmed at these newcomers, including the group.

"Dad…what's going on?" asked Kohta.

"I don't know, son," said Mr. Hakuro.

"Everyone," said Joe, his voice suddenly hard. "Back away slowly and carefully."

As they started to do this, the men pulled out rifles, and trained them on the crowd. They didn't have them out for five seconds before they started to fire into the crowd, sending the people scattering.

"Everyone, around that corner, and stick together!" said Joe, pointing where they needed to go.

Everyone followed his command, and ducked behind a now empty kiosk. They could see people running from the men in all directions. Joe turned to Mr. Hakuro and his family.

"You guys are going out of town by train, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Mr. Hakuro. "We're actually supposed to be at the station in about thirty minutes."

Joe nodded.

"Take Miyuki, Kohta, Kanae and Yuka with you, go there, and don't stop until you've reached the station," he said. "Run as fast as you can."

"What about you?" asked Mr. Hakuro.

"We'll be fine," said Joe. "Go!"

With that, Mr. Hakuro gathered up his charges and made toward the train station. Meanwhile, Kaede, Joe and Gendo ran in another direction, ducking when they needed to.

"Joe, what's going on?" asked Kaede, panicked.

"We have to get out of here, Kaede," said Joe, all seriousness present. "These guys will hurt us really badly if we stay here."

Kaede looked back behind her, and saw Kohta and his family running away, but they didn't seem to notice that they were being chased by one of the men. The man shouldered his rifle and pulled out a long knife and a nightstick.

"NO!" exclaimed Kaede, running away from Joe and past a bunch of the attacking men.

"KAEDE!" exclaimed Joe.

Kaede didn't care about her own safety at that moment. She knew what the man that followed Kohta and his family was going to do, and she couldn't let it happen. She ran and ran, not even thinking about the route she was taking. All she cared about was finding that man and making sure that Kohta, Kanae, Mr. Hakuro, Miyuki, and even that brat Yuka, were safe.

* * *

><p>Kanae, Kohta, their father and Yuka all made it to the platform. They couldn't stop to catch their breath as they hurriedly handed the conductor their tickets and got onboard.<p>

"Are we going to be okay?" asked Kohta. "What about Kaede and her dad?"

"Just pray, Kohta," said Mr. Hakuro. "Mr. Martino and his daughter did a brave thing by helping us out the way they did."

Miyuki was shocked to silence.

"Are you going to be okay, Miyuki?" asked Mr. Hakuro.

Kohta dug into his backpack, and pulled out a can of soda. He cracked the can and handed it to Miyuki.

"Here," he said. "Drink this. It'll help with the shock."

Miyuki silently took it and sipped it.

* * *

><p>Back outside, Kaede hurriedly chased after the man, who snuck around the back of the train and jumped on board. He pushed the back door open and went inside the back car. Kaede jumped on after him. She waited until he had closed the door and jumped onto the back car. She quietly opened the door and slipped inside. As soon as she shut the door, the train lurched, and started moving.<p>

The rear car was dark, except for one really bright light on the other end that only remained for an instant. Kaede guessed that that light had to be the cause of the man she had followed opening and closing the door. She ran toward the other end of the car and opened the door slightly to see that the man had found Kohta, his family, and Miyuki. The group huddled together, and Kaede could see that they were praying that they would come out unharmed.

"What do you want from us?" asked Mr. Hakuro.

"Want?" asked the man, putting his two weapons away and pulling out his gun. "Nothing, really. The only reason I'm here is because of a few eyewitnesses who left a scene. I am under strict orders to dispatch said witnesses. It's as simple as that. Nothing personal."

It wasn't so much the man's response, but his delivery that left the car's occupants unnerved. He really didn't seem to care one way or the other about the idea of "dispatching" innocent people.

Kohta gulped. Kanae and Yuka were gripping him tightly, and Mr. Hakuro had his arms gripped around them and Miyuki.

Kaede scowled.

_That monster!_ _I have to help them…somehow…but what can I do?_

She didn't remember opening the door, or running through it and kicking the man really hard in the back, but the next thing she knew, Kaede was standing on top of the man's back, stomping on him.

"Leave them alone, you bastard!" she exclaimed.

"Kaede!" exclaimed Kohta.

The man didn't take long to recover. He picked Kaede up by her neck, and threw her to the back of the car.

"Stay out of this, you little brat," he said. "I'll deal with you in a moment."

The man pulled a clip out of his pocket as Kaede recovered slowly from the blow. Her eyes widened as he carefully clicked the clip into the rifle, and took aim at Kohta's family.

"Goodbye," he said.

As he was about to load a cartridge, Kaede willed whatever force she could to help her save Kohta and his family. It was then she let out a loud yell.

"NO!" she exclaimed.

With those words, something strange happened. She felt something emerge from her back, and somehow, she had grabbed hold of the man. It must have been a painful hold, for the man was yelling in pain.

As the man was writhing in her grip, Kaede looked at her hands, and realized they were both empty, and yet somehow she felt four hands of some sort gripping on the man. She didn't bother wondering how this was possible, and started slamming the man down, up, and all around the car.

"LEAVE-THEM-ALONE!" yelled Kaede, accenting each word by throwing the man into the side of the car with her extra arms.

After a few slams, Kaede heard a voice behind her.

"Kaede! That's enough!"

She looked behind her and realized it was Joe, with Gendo in his hands..

She looked at him in fear, before using the last of her immediate strength to go over to one of the side doors of the car and throwing the man out.

She looked around the car, and saw everyone was staring at her. That was the last thing she remembered before everything went black.

* * *

><p>When Kaede opened her eyes, she took a look around, and saw that she was laying inside the hotel room she shared with Joe, who was sitting on the bed on her right side.<p>

"Good morning, sleepyhead," said Joe, with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Joe," she said, with tears coming from her eyes. "I had the most horrible dream. I went to a festival with you, and we met Kohta. After that, we got attacked. Kohta and his family were-"

Joe held up a hand.

"Actually, that wasn't a dream," he said.

"What?" asked Kaede.

"It's true," said a voice.

Kaede looked to her left, and saw Kohta, his family and Miyuki sitting on the bed opposite hers. They were all smiling at her, but all she could do was tremble.

"You have some visitors, Kaede," said Joe.

Kohta walked up to her bed and spoke.

"After what happened on the train, you blacked out," he said. "We were all really worried about you."

"Kohta has hardly left your side," said Joe.

Kaede blushed a bit, but turned her head away from everyone's face.

"My god…" she said. "I can't believe that I did all that stuff to that man."

"Yes, Kaede," said Joe. "You did."

Kaede pulled a pillow out from behind her and buried her face in it.

"I really am different," she said.

Everyone leaned forward to hear her better.

"What do you mean?" asked Mr. Hakuro.

Kaede reached up and pulled off her hat, revealing the two bone-like studs on her head.

"I mean that these aren't the only thing that make me different from everyone else anymore," she said, her voice cracking.

The horns surprised everyone who hadn't already seen them, but only for a moment. Joe rubbed Kaede's back. He was about to speak when Kohta beat him to the punch.

"Kaede," he said. "You did something great last night. You saved our lives!"

Kaede looked up at him, but kept everything but her eyes hidden in the pillow.

"Yes, Kohta," she said. "But…what I did to that man…I almost killed him. And I saw the looks you all had afterwards."

She put her face fully back into the pillow before speaking again.

"I can understand if you never want to be friends with me again," she said. "I'm not normal, no matter how much I wish I was. I'm too different. And don't try to tell me I'm not."

Kohta shook his head.

"Okay," he said. "Fine. You're really, really, really different. But that doesn't mean I don't want to be your friend anymore. My family and I owe you our lives, Kaede. If it weren't for you, we'd probably all be dead."

Kaede lifted her head from the pillow and looked at Kohta and his family with tear-streaked eyes. True enough, everybody was happy. Kanae came up to Kaede and glomped her.

"Kaede! You are so amazing!" she squeaked.

Kaede was surprised.

Kanae pulled away from her, assumed a position on the floor, leaned her body forward, with her head bowed. She repeated this motion over and over.

"I am not worthy. I am not worthy," she chanted.

Everyone laughed at that, including Kaede, who carefully climbed out of her bed and hugged Kohta. When everyone was done laughing, Mr. Hakuro spoke.

"They're both right, Kaede," he said. "We owe you our lives. If you ever need anything from us, we'll gladly help you however we can."

Kaede blushed again.

"You see, Kaede?" said Joe. "I told you that your real friends wouldn't care about your differences, no matter what they are or how big they seem."

Kaede smiled.

"Yes, Joe," she said. "You were right."

For a moment, everyone was silent. But Kaede spoke to Joe again.

"Joe?" she asked. "Could I…ask you a favor?"

"What is it?" asked Joe.

"Would…would it be okay if I started calling you… 'Daddy?'" she asked.

Joe looked surprised for a moment, but then grinned.

"Kaede, you don't have to ask for that," he said. "And after what happened last night, I couldn't be more proud to call you my daughter."

Kaede leapt forward and hugged Joe, but only for a moment.

"Um, Daddy…boy, that's going to take some getting used to…I have one more thing to ask."

"Yes?" asked Joe.

"Could we…maybe come back here again next summer?" asked Kaede. "I really want to see all of them again."

Joe scoffed.

"Oh, Kaede, did I even have a choice in that matter?" he asked.

He ruffled her hair and turned his attention to Kohta and his family.

"You guys are coming back next summer, correct?" asked Joe.

"Yes," said Mr. Hakuro. "We come back every summer break."

Joe turned his attention to Miyuki.

"Hey," he said. "I'm sorry we dragged you into this."

"It's okay!" said Miyuki. "I know that last night was terrible, but that's the most excitement I've had in the last week. I didn't tell you this, but…I'm currently unemployed. I was at the summer festival last night to try and get out of my funk."

Joe let out a sound that sounded like a tsk.

"You never mentioned that at the festival," he said. "What did you do for your last job?"

Miyuki took a moment to answer.

"I worked as a secretary," she said. "I left for personal reasons."

Joe smirked a bit.

"Well, if I'm going to be coming back to Japan with Kaede, I'm going to need someone help me handle my workload while I'm in the country. How would you like to be my assistant?"

Miyuki's eyes widened.

"Are you…offering me a job?" she asked.

"Why not?" asked Joe. "Can you type?"

"Yes," said Miyuki.

"Do you have a basic understanding of finances?" asked Joe.

"Um…yes," said Miyuki.

"There's one more criterion I have for my assistant in Japan," said Joe. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," said Miyuki.

Joe paused for a long time.

"Are you from Japan?" he asked, causing everyone to laugh, even her.

"Yes," Miyuki said, nodding.

"Then, you're hired. I'll do a little bit of a delay on my return trip to the U.S., and we'll get all this stuff sorted out."

Both Kaede and Miyuki were happy that Joe decided to start coming to Japan.

After a while, Kohta and his family had decided they needed to leave. Before they did, Joe gave Mr. Hakuro some money to buy new train tickets. (Mr. Hakuro originally refused, but Joe insisted.) Kohta and his relatives came up to Kaede and hugged her one last time.

"We can't wait to see you next summer," said Kohta.

Kaede smiled.

"I'm looking forward to it," she said.

With that, the family left.

* * *

><p>Over the next couple of days, Kaede, Joe and his new assistant, Miyuki, were taking care of things to solidify their connection with Japan. Joe decided to buy a house that would serve as their home whenever they were visiting the country. Miyuki liked her new job working for Joe, and Kaede and Gendo loved the view from their second-story bedroom in the house.<p>

Joe decided to stay one night in the house before they had to go to the United States. At the end of the day, Kaede happily showered and got ready for bed. When she came to her room, she found Joe waiting for her.

"Hey, Daddy," said Kaede, smiling.

"Ready for bed?" asked Joe.

Kaede nodded and ran over to the bed. Joe pulled back the covers, and tucked her in.

"Have a pleasant sleep, Kaede."

"I will, Daddy," she said. She leaned up and kissed Joe on the cheek. "I love you."

Joe smiled.

"I love you too, sweetie."

With that, he turned around, turned off Kaede's light, and closed the door. Kaede squirmed down into the covers, rolled over, and dozed off in a matter of moments.

After tucking Kaede into bed, Joe walked to the room that would be his office. He locked the door upon entering, and turned on a dim light. He then opened a drawer in his desk, and took out a small earpiece. Sticking it in, he pushed on a small lever on the underside of his desk. On cue, part of the wall next to him opened, and he spoke into the earpiece.

"The arrangements have been made," he said, simply.

He heard static on the other end of the line before an answer.

"Excellent. As always, you've done superbly, Halcón," said the voice.

As he heard the voice start giving him directions, Joe pulled out a white hooded outfit and started putting it on. Once he was finished, he wrapped a bracer around each of his hands, and flicked them. Out of the bracers came identical short, thin blades. He opened the window to his office, and climbed to the rooftop, where he looked out over the Kamakura area bathed in moonlight.

To Be Continued.

A/N: Hey guys, just thought I'd put up a re-done version of chapter one and two for this story. If you are all wondering about chapter three…I'm working on it right now. Literally, I have Microsoft Word open right now, and I've just finished explaining how Joe came to be in Japan. For all of you who were aching for some ass-kicking to begin, you can expect a good deal of it in the next chapter. I hope you all like it. If you have any questions about the story, don't hesitate to ask. Catch you later!


	3. Perspective

"Assassin's Creed: Elf Song"

By cdc100

Summary: As a child, Kaede is adopted, and now has a loving family. However, when her new father is kidnapped, she must learn the ways of the Assassins in order to save him.

Disclaimer: This is a work of pure non-profit fan fiction. I do not own any of the characters, their weapons, their abilities, or any of their universes, nor do I own any of the lyrics that will appear in later chapters, or any of the products mentioned in the story such as Coca-Cola, or PlayStation.

Chapter Three

"Perspective"

As Joe received directions for his next mission, he surveyed the rooftops of Kamakura. From what his supervisor was telling him, it sounded as though his next objective was a good few miles away. To find his target and come back before Kaede woke up would most likely take him all night, so he wasted no time in taking his bearings and starting his mission.

As he ran across the rooftops, dodging all the areas where police were likely to roam, he went back over the events which happened up to this point in his head.

His superiors in America had sent him on a special mission in Japan, without really giving him any specifics, explaining to him that the Japanese Assassins and their American liaison would explain the details.

Luckily for him, the Assassins had people working in airports all across the world, otherwise, acquiring the necessary tools for his trip would have been difficult. One of the Assassins' airport employees swiped him with a fake wand, and had his luggage tagged with a special sensor that would trick the scanners into reading his luggage as clean. He went through the same thing when he arrived in Japan. Before leaving, he had asked his publishers to schedule an event in Japan, in honor of his latest book.

As soon as he checked into his hotel, he got ready for both things he would have to go through that night: the meeting with the Japanese Assassins and the book party.

The latter proceeded as it usually did: A lot of drinking, a lot of talking, and a LOT of autographs. He was thankful for his training in patience and maintaining his sobriety. Him being the guest of honor, he would most likely be the last person to leave the party, but it was worth the explanation as to why he came to Japan of all places. A book tour, while impromptu, would make for a perfect excuse to be there. That, and being a self-professed hardcore otaku didn't hurt.

After he finished the party, he went back to his hotel room. As it was nightfall, it was the most opportune time to meet up with the Japanese Assassins.

Feeling that it was best not to draw attention until it was absolutely necessary, he kept on the same clothes he wore at his book party: a black jacket and pants with a light blue shirt and sapphire tie. However, in case of necessity, he brought along the necessary mission tools in a large case.

He scheduled this particular book party a mere two blocks from where his meeting was to take place. So, as soon as he was sure nobody would see him, he proceeded cautiously down the street until he reached the address he had memorized before arriving in the country. It seemed to be a condemned building, and looked like it used to be a fast food place, or at least what passed for one in Japan. Without thinking much about it, he went to the back of the building, and, after making sure that nobody else was around, knocked quietly on a specific panel on the back.

He waited for a few moments, before saying, in a low tone…

"The hawk has made its nest."

With that, a small clicking sound could be heard, and the panel opened very slightly. Joe checked once more to make sure that nobody was around before entering and closing the door quietly. As he entered, he was escorted by a man in a long, dark coat down a long hallway, with their only light being a small flashlight, carried by the escort. The two came to a narrow staircase off to the side of the hallway, and the escort beckoned for Joe to follow. Years ago, a meeting like this would have unnerved him, but since joining the Brotherhood, he was used to much worse accommodations.

Upon reaching the end of the staircase, the escort shut the door that connected the cellar with the stairs. For a moment it was dark, but the dark was soon dispelled by a small light in the corner of the room, which offered an orange glow that flooded the room. Joe looked over in the corner and saw a trio of men standing by the light switch.

"You are Halcón?" one of the men asked.

This man was clearly Japanese, as was the man to his right, but the man to his left, Joe deduced, was the American liaison.

"Yes," responded Joe. "But please, feel free to call me Joe, or Joseph, if you prefer."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Joseph," said the man, coming forward and shaking his hand. "I am Ishiro Tamaki. I am one of the Brotherhood's ranking members here in Japan. This is my personal bodyguard, Hamuro Ganta."

The muscular man to the right of Tamaki gave Joe a curt nod, after which, Tamaki spoke again.

"And this is the American liaison to the Japanese brotherhood, Frederic Dumont."

The man to the left of Tamaki smiled to Joe.

"Welcome, Joseph," he said. "I trust your trip here and your book party went well?"

Joe gently placed his case next to the table nearest him before answering.

"Yes, they did," he said. "And thank you for the warm welcome. Forgive me if I seem overly quiet. It's just that I am curious about something. I thought that the Japanese Assassins were headquartered in Osaka."

Ganta spoke in place of Tamaki.

"You are correct, Joseph," he said. "However, there has been activity lately that, frankly, demanded the Brotherhood's attention."

"What kind of action might that be?" asked Joseph.

Tamaki spoke this time.

"One of our scouts situated here informed us that he had seen a lot of movement from suspicious-seeming people all over the city. He observed over a span of a week that there were people who our contacts in the underworld did not recognize, and who people in the city do not seem to recognize either, roaming around town in a lot of unsavory locations."

"The scout took pictures of some of these men," said Ganta. "And we had our bureau's resident technology specialist run their pictures through a facial recognition analysis. The pictures all came back with identification, but their records all seemed too clean."

"Joseph," said Tamaki, "we requested you by name to come out here. We felt the need to contact you because we think there is a strong possibility that these people might be from the Templar Order."

Joseph said nothing, still listening to the strangers.

"Dumont here tells us that you have experience in recognizing, tracking, and eliminating Templar agents," said Ganta. "We would like your help with determining whether these people are a threat, and if they are, eliminating them."

Joseph nodded.

"Well, the first part of that is easy," he said. "Templars usually carry a pin of a red iron cross somewhere on their person, assuming that they're not vain enough to display it on their lapels. If we can find a group with someone who appears to be high-ranking amongst them, we can ambush them, and search them for the pin. If they have the pin, our doubts will be eliminated."

The Japanese nodded, and Joe continued.

"I'm guessing that you also wanted an American to come here and assess the threat on the off-chance that they turn out not to be Templars, and our 'targets' can write the attack on them off as a tourist gone rogue. Am I correct?"

"That is part of the reason, yes," said Tamaki. "However, we thought it best to bring a high-ranking Assassin over in order to be prepared for the worst-case scenario."

Joe nodded once again.

"The rest of what you want to happen will be tricky," said Joe. "Assuming that they truly are Templar agents, we don't know what they are after, and without that piece of information, we won't be able to completely eliminate the threat. The Templars are tenacious. If we just eliminate the immediate operatives, the Templars will just send more to succeed where their predecessors failed."

"Joseph is right," said Dumont. "The Templars have nearly unlimited resources, so unless we can find out for sure what they want, and stop them from achieving it, we'll be dealing with an army of Templar operatives who just pick up where their comrades left off."

Tamaki nodded.

"In that case, time is of the essence," he said. "We will need to assess the situation quickly if we are to coordinate an effective defense."

Joe picked his case back up.

"I brought my equipment for just such an occasion," he said. "I can search the city at night for any of the people your scout picked up."

Tamaki rummaged through a few of his pockets.

"Our scout sent us this picture, and told us where the man depicted will be, and at what time," he said. "Tonight, we want you to go to the place he is expected to be, and find out if he is, in fact, a Templar."

Joe looked perplexed.

"We're getting right into this?" he asked.

"I realize that this seems to be unfolding inordinately quickly for you, Joseph, with you having just arrived," said Tamaki. "However, as I said, time is of the essence."

Joe nodded.

"You have no need to be worried about tonight," said Ganta. "If you feel that you are unprepared, I feel obligated to inform you that you won't be alone. You'll have the support of our own Assassins."

"It's not that I feel unprepared, Ganta," said Joe. "I just didn't expect you to be ready to engage so quickly. I don't see this being any problem at all."

The Assassins all nodded their heads.

"Well, if that's the case, you may make use of one of our guest rooms to get ready for your mission," said Tamaki.

Joe bowed his head.

"Thank you, sir," he said.

He took his case a few steps past the staircase before turning back and addressing his hosts.

"Look, no offense, but I hope that you're wrong about these guys," he said.

"As do we all, Joseph," said Dumont.

Joe continued past the staircase and into one of the rooms. Once in, he took off his restrictive business clothes and opened his carrying case to find the garb he had been given upon completion of his training. First, he put on a pair of tight, yet somehow comfortable black pants. Then, he covered his feet with a pair of long leather boots, not quite long enough to meet his knees. Then, over his shirt, he placed a black bullet-proof vest. The advance of modern technology had necessitated a vest being given to as many Assassins as possible. He then pulled on a long white coat with a hood. Under the coat, he hid a belt, which not only held the symbol of his Brotherhood, an A-shaped mark, but also carried a variety of weapons. The belt held a machete, a telescopic nightstick, throwing knives, a switchblade, a long fighting knife, a long pistol which came with a detachable silencer, a dart pistol, a grappling hook launcher, and a variety of grenades. He then put on a pair of black gripper gloves with knuckles built in. After he was done equipping himself, he added the finishing touch to his armament: a pair of bracers, which he strapped over the sleeves of his coat. After tightening the bracers, he gave his wrists a flick, and out of each of the bracers came a short, thin blade. The two bracers also held a small pistol, a poison dart launcher, and a nozzle that would spray a powerful anesthetic. Seeing that his bracers would do their job, he pulled his hood over his head and exited the room to meet his hosts once again. He raised his arm to his chest before addressing them.

"If you guys already have my mission lined up, I'm ready to begin when you are," he said.

Tamaki came forward and handed him the photograph he fished out of his pocket minutes ago.

"This is your target," he said. "Our scout informed us that he would be leaving a bath house near the shoreline this evening. You must incapacitate him and then bring him to us. He will undoubtedly have escorts, so disable them before advancing on him. Our support will take care of them while you bring him to us."

With that, Tamaki gestured with his hand in a downward fashion. As he did this, one man and two women dropped down from the rafters, each wearing a similar outfit to Joe.

"These are our support team. The man is Yusuke Aizawa, and the two women are Chitose Takahashi and Toko Sakaki. Yusuke will be your watcher. He will observe your movements and those of your targets and will notify you of their movements and of how you should proceed. Chitose and Toko will be in the field with you. They will take care of any evidence left behind by you and draw away any unwanted attention."

Joe regarded each of the Japanese Assassins with an approving look.

Ganta stepped forward and handed Joseph a small device.

"We use these to communicate with each other over distances," he said. "Make good use of it while on your missions here."

Joe accepted the device and promptly put it in his ear.

"Good luck with your mission, Joseph," said Ganta.

"Make sure that your target comes in good condition," said Tamaki.

Joe nodded.

"It will be done, Master Tamaki," he said. "Nothing is true. Everything is permitted."

The other Assassins chorused their motto with him.

Joe led his new squad out the back of the hideout, and after making sure nobody saw him, he gestured for his team to follow. Quickly, he climbed a nearby wall and perched himself on the rooftop, waiting for his team to join him. When all were accounted for, he led them, running, toward the shoreline. As they ran toward their destination, Joe questioned his team.

"How long until this man is supposed to leave the bath house?" he asked.

"At least an hour," said Yusuke. "We have plenty of time to reach the shore."

"Good," said Joe. "Is there anything you'll need for this mission?"

"I'll need a place high up so that I can get a good view of the field," said Yusuke. "Toko and Chitose will simply need a hiding spot."

"As long as they follow my lead, they have nothing to worry about," said Joe. "As for your high point, will that cherry picker work?"

As they continued to run, Joe pointed toward a vacant cherry picker that was elevated close to a power line. Yusuke regarded it for a moment before continuing to follow Joe.

"That should be high enough," he said.

Joe nodded.

"We'll split up. You take that cherry picker and Chitose and Toko will follow me."

Yusuke nodded and ran over the rooftops toward the cherry picker. Joe watched Yusuke run to the top of the ladder and perch himself at the bottom of the basket of the cherry picker. When Yusuke was in position, Joe led Toko and Chitose to a small office building and had them wait on the roof.

"Wait for my call," said Joe. "When you hear it, you will come down and take care of any signs of a fight. You will need to take care of the escorts when I finish. Find a place to hold them."

They nodded his head, and when he saw this, he went down lower, on the top of a house that overlooked the front gate of the bath house, and perched in wait for their target. He still had quite some time before his target would leave the bath house, so to occupy his time, he surveyed the scenery of the area. He liked the view he had of the ocean. Even at night, the ocean looked radiant. He also liked the architecture of the area. It reminded him that he was far from home, but even the best Asian architecture in California couldn't compare to what he saw.

Time passed very slowly for Joe. He had almost considered doing a practice run around the roof, but didn't feel as though he should expend his energy or draw attention to himself until his target came. One thing that he found helped pass the time waiting for his targets was his ideas for his books. He liked to think of the kinds of books he would write after his current ones. Aside from making a good cover identity, Joe considered being an author to be a fun job. As he finished thinking about the kinds of characters he would have in his next book, he heard static over the earpiece Ganta had given him.

"Halcón," said the voice, who Joe knew was Yusuke.

Joe placed his hand over the device in response, listening for Yusuke's word.

"The target is coming out of the door," said Yusuke. "We have movement."

Joe looked toward the bath house, and sure enough, out came the target, a plain-looking Japanese man in a black suit, followed closely by two more muscular men.

Joe took a deep breath and walked back a few steps away from the roof. As he did, he raised his stance. He looked in the direction that the trio seemed to be walking, and found a perfect place to strike. He then took a few steps away from the side edge, then ran forward, repeatedly jumping from rooftop to rooftop, until he landed on a lower rooftop. Joe then jumped off the roof and landed in a bush, waiting for the trio to walk by him. As they passed him, he carefully exited the bush, then snuck along the wall to the corner of the house, where he waited for them to take a few more steps. He then walked speedily towards the trio, crept up behind one guard and brought the edges of both hands down onto his neck, hitting the pressure points at the base and sending him falling to the ground. As the other guard started to turn, Joe sent his fist hurtling towards the guard's temple, then brought his other fist into his solar plexus, causing him to fall, too. The target took this moment to notice something was wrong, but was too late. Joe jumped on top of him, bringing him to the ground and unsheathing one of his hidden blades, pointing it at the man's face. The man was too scared to move, and so Joe retracted the blade and flicked one of his fingers.

"Sleep now," he said, as a gray fume spewed from the nozzle on his bracer.

As the target succumbed to the gas, Joe began searching through his pockets. It took a few seconds, but eventually he found exactly what he hoped not to find: a red pin in the shape of an iron cross.

"Damn it," he said.

He pressed his hand to his ear and spoke.

"Yusuke. It's just as Tamaki feared," he said.

There was silence before he heard Yusuke's reply.

"I'll report it to Dumont," he said. "Chitose and Toko will take care of the scene while you take him back to the hideout."

Hearing these words, Joe slung the man over his shoulder and walked along the alleyways of the area, ducking into a hiding spot when needed. He eventually came back to the hideout. He knocked on the back door of the restaurant, and Dumont answered it. He helped Joe carry the man down toward the basement.  
>"Were there any problems?" Dumont asked.<p>

"He had two guards," said Joe. "But they went down easily."

"What of your watcher?" asked Dumont, as they set the man on the table in the middle of the room.

"He told me he would see to any liabilities," said Joe.

Dumont strapped the prisoner to the table and turned on a cone-shaped lamp hanging over the table.

"What do we do now?" asked Joseph.

"Leave him to us," said Dumont. "He will tell us what the enemy's plans in this country are before long. Meet with your supervisor. We will contact you when we have extracted the information."

Joseph picked up the case that held his equipment, bowed, and started back up the stairs.

"Godspeed, Dumont," he said over his shoulder.

"Safe travels, Halcón," replied Dumont.

"Nothing is true. Everything is permitted," they said at once.

With that, Joe exited the building, and disappeared down an alley, stripping off all of his equipment and placing it in his case as he went. As he came out near his hotel, he was thankful that he thought to keep his tie done so that he could put it back on without having to tie it. He crossed the street carefully, and then came to the front doors of the hotel. As he came in, he was greeted by several of the hotel's employees. He bowed in response to them, then went up to the front counter, where he was greeted by a younger hotel employee.

"Good evening, sir. My name is Koji. Are you checking in?" he asked.

"Yes," said Joe. "I made a reservation here a few nights ago. It should be under the name Joseph Martino."

Koji looked through the records and found the reservation.

"Ah. Here it is."

Koji and Joe set up all of the things necessary for his check-in.

"Let me just get your key for you, and you should be set," said Koji.

He did so, and handed it to Joe.

"We hope you enjoy your stay, Mr. Martino," he said. "If you need anything at all, give us a call."

Joe smiled.

"Thank you, Koji."

With that, he went back out to the curb, where he had parked his rental car earlier, and grabbed the rest of his luggage. Along with the luggage, he went ahead and brought in all his equipment. When he got to his room on the fifth floor, he put his luggage into the closet and undressed. While he got ready for bed, he went through the channels, paying attention to the news every once in a while, but then stopping on a cartoon so that he could be entertained before he went to sleep. He finally got into bed after settling on an anime that had recently premiered. He watched it until he fell asleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Joe was awoken by a ringing sound. He opened his phone, which he had set to charge the night before, and found out two things: first, it wasn't even seven in the morning, and second, he had a text message from a blocked caller.<p>

**Meet at hideout**

Needing no more warning, Joe got out of bed, pulled a small breakfast out of his mini-refrigerator and set it in the microwave to heat up while he got dressed. He dressed in a light blue shirt with a cobalt tie, and put a black suit over the top of it. As soon as his breakfast had finished, he pulled it out of the microwave and began eating. He ate as he walked to the elevator and finished by the time he came to the ground floor. As he walked by the front desk, he saw Koji waiting to greet him.

"Ah, Mr. Martino. Sleep well?" he asked.

"I slept great, thank you, Koji," answered Joe. "I'm going out for a while, so let me know if I receive any calls."

"You got it," said Koji.

With that done, Joe left the hotel and cautiously went to the location of the hideout once again. Checking to see that nobody was around, he knocked on the back panel once again, and was greeted by Yusuke, who led him down to the basement. Tamaki and the other Assassins sat at the same table the prisoner was bound to the night before, and gestured to a vacant seat, which Joe promptly took.

"Welcome back, Joseph," said Tamaki.

Joe nodded.

"What's this meeting all about?" asked Joe.

Tamaki wasted no time getting to the matter.

"We have managed to extract information from the Templar prisoner about what his masters' objectives are here in Japan. Ganta, if you would care to elaborate."

Ganta turned toward Joe and began talking.

"I was up all night grilling that Templar," he said. "He first refused to tell us anything, but eventually, he let slip that the Templars were funding an institute of some sort. He could not tell us where it was, but he was able to tell us that his superiors were currently searching for someone."

Ganta stopped to pull something out of one of his pockets.

"This cell phone was used by the Templar up until he was taken into our custody," he said. "It has only one picture on it."

Ganta passed the cell phone down the table, to Joseph, who picked it up. Upon picking it up, he rummaged through the cell phone until he found the camera function. He was shocked upon opening it. Looking back at him was a young girl who had unusual features, even for someone not from Japan. The girl in question had reddish pink hair and red eyes, which contrasted interestingly with her pale skin. But the feature that stuck out most was a pair of small protrusions, one on either side of her head, which resembled horns.

"Who is she?" asked Joe.

"The Templar didn't know anything about her," said Ganta. "Only that he had been tasked with finding her and bringing her in. We can't verify whether everything he told us was true, but he said that he alone was tasked with finding her, had found out where she was, and was about to inform his superiors when we captured him."

"So, where can we find her?" asked Joe.

Ganta pulled a map out from under the table and pointed to an area just outside the town for Joe to observe.

"Out here is an orphanage," said Ganta. "The man had observed her sitting by herself on the playground during recess."

Joe nodded.

"So, I gather that our next course of action would be to get ahold of her ourselves?" he asked. "Keep her out of Templar hands?"

"You are correct," said Tamaki. "However, Joseph, we feel that we cannot have her directly connected with the Brotherhood. It would undoubtedly endanger her and possibly break the Third Tenet. So, we would like her to be retrieved in such a way that we may watch over her, and keep her away from Templar hands, but also in such a way that she will not find out anything about us."

Everyone was silent for a moment, but then Joe spoke.

"I have an idea," he said. "But you will have to hear me out all the way."

Everyone listened intently.

"I have something of a reputation for being a ladies' man," said Joe. "My publishers have often suggested that if I had more of a family life, I might be more appealing to my readers and any prospective readers. I have talked to them a few times about adopting a kid. I wonder if being in America would be enough of a distance to keep her away from this so-called institute."

Tamaki nodded, sensing that Joe was not finished.

"Speaking modestly," said Joe, "I have a great sum of money at my disposal. I could approach the orphanage as a donor, and use my donation as leverage to adopt her as my daughter."

Tamaki spoke this time.

"I sense you might have something else in mind as well, Joseph," he said.

Joe cleared his throat before answering.

"To be plain, Master Tamaki, I believe that with proper guidance, and a loving hand to point the way, we might be able to groom her to be one of us."

Everyone murmured amongst themselves after Joe finished speaking, but Tamaki silenced them with a wave of his hand.

"What you suggest could be very risky, Joseph," he said. "Are you sure that such a thing would be wise?"

"What we are talking about, here, is removing a person of interest from a Templar-controlled environment," said Joe. "From what I gather, these people that the Templars are backing are localized. They can't be very far from Japan, or even this island, if they are so sure that what they're looking for is here. If we were to remove their person of interest from the country, this institute that has taken such an interest in her will only be able to do so much. And I don't believe that the Templars would be willing to waste their resources searching for someone who's been spirited away to another country when they have so many more options than we have available to them. Besides, their odds of finding a particular Japanese child housed with a particular single American father aren't very good. Until we know for sure how much they know about the girl, I think it safe to assume she would be safe in the hands of the Brotherhood."

Everyone was silenced by Joe's logic.

"You make a compelling argument, Joseph," said Tamaki. "If you are set on this idea, I see no reason why you shouldn't carry it out. However, I would suggest that you move as fast as possible, and keep us abreast of your status, and that of the girl."

Joe smiled.

"Of course, Master Tamaki," he said.

"With that settled, I believe we should call this meeting adjourned," said Tamaki. "Nothing is true. Everything is permitted."

Everyone repeated his words and broke from the table, with Joe approaching Ganta asking for the orphanage's location and contact information. Ganta handed a slip of paper to Joseph with the address and phone number of the orphanage written down.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Joseph," said Ganta. "Good luck."

Joseph bowed and left the basement. He was once again careful about leaving the hideout.

On his way back to the hotel, he thought about how he might approach the situation at hand. He would have to gain the girl's trust. For children, trust is a very fickle thing. Some children could trust too easily, or be unlikely to trust anyone other than themselves, depending on their circumstances. And still some children could be flat-out mercurial. They could trust you at first, but have that trust easily broken.

Another concern was the system the orphanage abided by. How soon would he be able to adopt the child? How desperately do they need his money? How far backward would they be willing to bend to get it?

He decided to give the thoughts a rest when he arrived at the front of the hotel, once again to be greeted by Koji as he came by the desk.

"Any calls, Koji?" he asked.

"None for you, Mr. Martino," answered Koji. "Are you expecting one?"

"No, Koji," said Joe. "Not at all. I just like being kept up-to-date. Thanks a lot."

Koji nodded his head.

"Are you in need of anything else?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Joe. "What do you serve here for dinner?"

"We serve traditional Japanese foods here, normally," said Koji. "But if you're looking for something closer to your home, I can recommend a few places close to here that serve food more your style."

"The food here should be fine, Koji," said Joe. "I'll be out of the room for lunch and most of the day, but I would love to try some of the local cuisine when I get back."

Koji smiled.

"Well, if that's all you need, I hope you have a nice day, Mr. Martino."

Joe bowed, then went to his room.

While in his room, he put together a briefcase full of documents, including some of his work, his credentials, and his ID. He hadn't brought his cell phone to the meeting, but planned to take it with him on his trip to the orphanage.

Making his way out to the car that he rented, a red Ferrari, he dialed in the number for the orphanage. As soon as he got in the car and started down the road, the hands-free system in the car picked up the call, and soon after, someone on the other end of the line picked up.

"Hello?" asked a female voice. "This is the Kamakura Orphanage. How may I help you?"

"Hello, my name is Joseph Martino," said Joe. "I'd like to speak to someone about two very important matters."

"What is the nature of your business, Mr. Martino?" asked the secretary.

"I would like to give something to the orphanage and take something from it," he said. "I would like to make a donation to your institution and speak to someone about adopting a child."

There was a pause on the other end of the line before Joseph heard the voice again.

"Please wait one moment, Mr. Martino. I'll redirect your call momentarily."

"Thank you," said Joe.

He waited a few moments. He heard nothing but static for a while, but then heard a male voice.

"Hello?" asked the voice. "I'm speaking to a Mr. Joseph Martino, correct?"

"Yes it is," said Joe.

"My name is Soichiro Igabashi, I'm the Principal here at Kamakura Orphanage. What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to talk to someone there about a couple of very important matters," said Joe. "I would like to make a donation to your school, and I would also like to take one of your children off your hands."

"Well, I'm sure that we can find a child to your liking, Mr. Martino," said Igabashi. "However, I must be frank. I'm very curious as to what kind of donation we would be looking at."

"Well, Mr. Igabashi," said Joe, "I'm always looking for a good cause to put my chips on. I see this as a good cause, so I will be making a somewhat generous donation. I was thinking somewhere in the area of ten million yen."

There was a very long silence on the other end.

"Did I lose you, Mr. Igabashi?" asked Joe.

Igabashi seemed to snap out of his stupor.

"Uh, no, Mr. Martino. I'm still here," said Igabashi. "You make a very compelling offer. If you like, I could have my secretary schedule an appointment for you-"

"Actually, I'm on my way to you, Mr. Igabashi," said Joe. "I should be there in about half an hour, if you will take me today."

Igabashi sounded flustered when he answered, but he quickly responded to Joe.

"O-of course!" he exclaimed. "Feel free to come in when you arrive. I'll push my nine o'clock ahead."

"Very good, Mr. Igabashi," said Joe.

With that, he hung up. As he entered a faster speed zone he sped up, hoping that nobody would mind him going a few kilometers per hour over the speed limit.

It wasn't long before he reached the orphanage. He parked as close to the building as possible before stepping out of the car and walking to the front door. As he came in, he was greeted by the receptionist, who directed him toward Igabashi's office upon his introduction.

"Good morning, Mr. Martino," said Igabashi, shaking Joe's hand.

"Good morning," said Joe. "I hope I haven't caught you at an in convenient time."

"Not at all, Mr. Martino," said Igabashi. "I trust your trip here was pleasant?"

"It wasn't too hard to find this place," said Joe.

"Shall we get down to business, then?" asked Igabashi.

"The sooner the better," said Joe.

"Well, to the point, then," said Igabashi. "You called saying that you were hoping to make a very generous donation to our school."

"That's correct," said Joe. "I had hoped that I might put some of my money to good use. I would like to see kids from outside of the US without families be brought up with a loving hand, a guiding voice, and a watchful eye."

"But why this school, specifically?" asked Igabashi. "Not that I'm refusing your offer."

"I had heard of this orphanage from a dear friend," said Joe. "He seemed to think that this school wanted for a less modest budget."

"Well, we could always use more, Mr. Martino," said Igabashi.

"I would, however, like to see what kind of place I am donating to," said Joe. "Perhaps as the administrator, you could give me a tour?"

Igabashi smirked.

"Why not?" he asked, getting up out of his chair. "Why don't you follow me and I can give you a look up close and personal?"

As he followed Igabashi through the school, he used the time that the man showed him the school as what it was: the perfect opportunity to look for the girl. He had to meet with the girl. If he told the orphanage exactly which orphan he wanted to adopt, the orphanage would likely get suspicious about his motives; particularly if the orphan that he picked out just happened to be a girl. So, he would have to do his damnedest to find the girl and gain her trust. With that thought in mind, he caught Igabashi's attention an hour or so into the tour in order to ask a question.

"Mr. Igabashi, you remember, of course, that I also said I would like to adopt one of your children?" he asked.

"Oh, yes," said Igabashi. "Of course. I get the feeling you'll want to meet some of them personally and maybe take a look at the face book in the front office?"

"Well, really, Mr. Igabashi, I would just like to know how difficult it would be to adopt one of your kids," said Joe. "You see, I don't have very long to stay here in Japan, and to say the least, trying to adopt a child while in the U.S. would be rather difficult for me."

Igabashi turned to face Joe fully.

"With any luck, your adoption shouldn't take more than about a week," said Igabashi. "All that will remain is you finding a suitable child."

Joe nodded. If Igabashi could read his mind, he would hear a chuckle. Joe figured that Igabashi undoubtedly marked down the waiting period for a child due to the donation he was making.

"That sounds reasonable to me," said Joe. "And you have all the adoption forms ready to be filled out and signed?"

Igabashi nodded.

"That shouldn't take you too long at all," he said.

"Very well, then," said Joe. "Shall we proceed?"

Igabashi gestured for Joe to follow and continued the tour. Just as they started walking again, a bell rang.

"Ah. Lunch time," said Igabashi. "This will be a good opportunity for you to see what kind of children we take in."

As if on cue, children poured out of the different classrooms and made their way toward a sign that said "cafeteria."

"If you'll follow me there, you can take a look for yourself at some of our students," said Igabashi.

Joe followed Igabashi and took a good look into the cafeteria. And not one of the children looked anything like the girl he was looking for. Not to mention the fact that not many of them were that well-behaved.

"I imagine that this would be another thing you could use more of a budget for: finding more staff to get a good handle on these kids," said Joe.

Igabashi cleared his throat and led Joe away from the cafeteria.

"If you don't like what you see, you're more than welcome to take a more extensive look tomorrow, when classes are going on. You can observe them for yourself-"

He was cut off when he heard a slight grunt from down below. Down below Joe and Mr. Igabashi was a pale-skinned little girl pink hair and red eyes. Joe didn't even bother looking to see if she had horns, too.

"Sorry about that, sweetheart," said Joe, bending down and extending a hand. "Are you okay?"

The girl didn't take the hand, instead backing away and standing up before dusting herself off.

"I'm fine," said the girl.

"Are you sure?" asked Joe, genuinely concerned.

"Come along, Mr. Martino," said Igabashi. "I'm sure she's starving and anxious to get lunch."

With that, Joe frowned and got up to follow Igabashi. But as he followed the man, he looked back at the girl, and gave her a smile and a thumbs-up.

As he followed Igabashi back to the front office, he counted the seconds it took to get back. Igabashi was feeding Joe all of the statistics of the school and how he would use the donation they received if Joe still intended to give it. After a minute or so, Joe gently interrupted Igabashi.

"I hope you don't mind, sir," he said, "I'll have to take my leave, but before I do that, I'd like to have another look around. No tour guide required. But in case you were wondering, your prospects of receiving my donation look very promising."

Igabashi smiled.

"That's wonderful news," he said. "By all means, go take a look around. Take all the time you need."

Joe smiled, and bowed out of the room, walking at an unnoticeably fast pace back toward the cafeteria. As he got closer, he heard laughing coming from inside. Afterwards, a young male voice spoke.

"You must be some kind of monster or something," said the voice, "because you're definitely not a human! You're so weird, even the teachers think you're creepy!"

Joe had walked in just in time to hear the second half of the brat's statement. He saw three boys jumping up and down in front of the floored pink-haired girl, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that they were laughing at her expense.

At that point, Joe walked right up behind them and crossed his arms. His shadow suddenly cast them into shade.

"You know, if I wanted anyone to even think of adopting me, I wouldn't dance around like an idiot and pick on other kids," he said.

"Shit," said one of the boys, who he gathered must be the leader.

After he said that, a door opened up on the other end of the room, and a young brunette girl with pigtails looked in, then yelled into the hallway.

"Teacher! Tomoo's picking on people again!" she exclaimed.

"Shit!" repeated the boy, who Joe gathered must have been Tomoo. "Let's get out of here!"

He led his two cohorts out of the room at a run.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves for picking on a girl!" exclaimed the new arrival.

Joe came into the room along with the other girl and helped the young girl to her feet.

"Aw, there's milk all over your bag," said the new arrival. "That boy is so mean."

"Everyone here is unhappy," Joe heard the horned girl say.

"What?" asked the other girl.

"And since they're unhappy, they're probably looking for someone worse off than they are," continued the horned girl, picking up her bag and leaving the room.

"Hey! Wait!" said the other girl, chasing after her.

Joe saw the other girl lead his objective into the girls' bathroom. He secretly made a point to follow the girl to all of her classes and see where her room was so she would be easy to find. After the girls had both left the restroom, Joe made a point to keep a close tail on the girl he was after. After a few hours of following the girl, her classes had ended, and he knew she would be coming a particular direction. It was time for them to accidentally meet again. He purposely made himself gently bump into her.

As the girl hit the floor for the fourth, or maybe even fifth time that day, the girl spoke meekly.

"Sorry…" she said.

"No, that's my fault," chuckled Joe. "I should wear a bell somewhere. Are you okay?"

He bent down and helped Kaede up, this time, without her refusal.

"I'm fine," she said, getting up, but keeping her eyes on the floor.

Joe tilted her chin up to meet his gaze.

"Your principal's been showing me around the school, and I've seen you every so often," he said. "You always seem so sad."

"Don't worry about me," said the girl, somewhat defiantly. "I don't need it."

"You seem like you can take care of yourself," chuckled Joe. "But that doesn't mean you have to put up with a bunch of hurtful things."

The girl looked sad again.

"What do you want from me?" she asked.

"Nothing," said Joe. "Just to make a cute girl's day a little better. And maybe learn that girl's name."

The girl looked down again before answering him.

"Are 'freak' and 'monster' not good enough?" she asked.

Joe frowned at that. One of the things he hated the most was bullies. It was one of many reasons he joined the Assassin Order. He hated children on the playground when he was six; he didn't tolerate them any better now that he was in his thirties.

"Absolutely not," he said. "because I don't see a freak or a monster here."

The girl blinked slowly, but seemed to hesitate with her answer.

"It's Kaede," she said. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Martino."

Joe smiled and took her hand.

"Let me take you back to your room," he said. "I have a few minutes before I have to leave."

As he walked the girl back to her room, Joe could see that she was slowly starting to trust him. She seemed to blush a little whenever he looked at her, and she didn't seem to take any issue with him holding her hand. As they came to the room where she lived, Joe bent down to her level once again and smiled.

"I'll be back again tomorrow," he said. "I'll come visit you."

Kaede smiled to Joe, who then walked toward the front office. As he heard the door close, he rounded the corner connecting to the office, and went directly to Igabashi's office.

"So, Mr. Igabashi," he said, causing the man to look up from his work. "Could I get a start on some of the paperwork I'll need to fill out for adoption? I'll also need a record of my donation to your school made."

"Absolutely," said Igabashi. "At the front counter, the receptionist will give you all the forms you need."

"Thank you, sir," said Joe, returning to the front counter and picking up said forms. He filled out what was needed for now and told the receptionist he would be back the next day to finish them. On his way out to the car, he made a note of the room Kaede was in and what classes she took in the day. As he skipped out on lunch, he stopped by a small diner on the way back to the hotel for a little snack. While there, he met a pleasant young waitress named Koyomi. It turned out she was a big fan of his work and hoped to get an autograph from him. After he was done with his snack, he went ahead and signed the inside of the front cover of one of the books he wrote.

After he paid for his food, Joe went back to his hotel room. Once inside, he made sure that the door was locked and the drapes were drawn. He made a few notes in his computer, then pulled out all of the equipment he brought with him on his trip, to make sure everything was in good condition.

He was in somewhat of a win-lose situation. He didn't want to draw suspicion by taking Kaede away from the orphanage right away, but for all he knew, the Templars could have been informed of her location in the span of time it took for him to leave the orphanage and return to the hotel. But in order for this to work, that was a risk he had to take. But on the off-chance such a thing had happened, his equipment had to be functioning properly.

Once he made sure that everything was working correctly, he made a mental note to make sure that the Assassins were informed of his success tomorrow. He then set his alarm to an early time so that he could get out to the orphanage as soon as possible the next morning. Not feeling like leaving the room, he had the hotel staff bring him some food from the kitchen. After he finished eating, he decided to watch some television before getting into bed. As he fell deeper and deeper into sleep, he mentally prepared himself for when he would return to the orphanage.

* * *

><p>At hearing the beeping of his alarm, Joe hastily wiped the sleep from his eyes, and got dressed. This time, he chose a white shirt with a pearl-colored tie. He went through the same routine as the previous morning, getting ready and putting a quickly-ready breakfast in the microwave to cook. After he was done dressing, he sent a message to the other Assassins telling her that he found the girl and intended to pick her up immediately. Remembering his thoughts the previous night, he grabbed a one of his hidden blades and stuffed it up his sleeve.<p>

As soon as the microwave beeped, Joe grabbed his breakfast and rushed out the door. He as he passed the front desk, he told Koji that he would be bringing a guest along, and would want extra blankets and pillows brought up to the room for them. Koji complied as Joe went out the door and walked hurriedly to his car. As soon as he was in, he started the car and tightened the straps of his blade. As the car took off moving, Joe flicked his wrist a couple of times, and sure enough, the blade was working fine.

When he got to the orphanage, he wasted no time going to the principal's office and asking Igabashi if he would still be allowed to observe the classes. Igabashi informed him that he could go door-to-door and peek in on whatever classes he wanted.

Joe wasn't too worried, but he wanted to make sure that Kaede was still in the building.

After perusing a few classrooms, Joe finally saw Kaede in a math classroom. Putting his mind at ease, Joseph went outside. He decided to make sure that no suspicious characters came by with the same objective as him.

As lunch time rolled around, Joe sat in his car and ate a few leftovers from one of his lunches a few days before. It wasn't delicious, but it was edible, and sometimes, that had to suffice.

As he ate, he continued to watch the school. He didn't see a single conspicuous person on the grounds or anywhere near the place. After he was finished eating, he decided that he would go back inside and notify the front desk of the choice he made in the child he would adopt.

After he was done there, he went to search for Kaede. After a few minutes of searching with no luck, he had begun to wonder if the Templars had escaped his watch…sneaky bastards.

His mind was relieved once again when he heard Kaede's voice yell out.

"You jerks!" she said.

With that said, Joe went to the source of the voice. It was a good way away, but looking in, he felt his relief suddenly disappear. Inside the room, he could see Kaede in a full nelson, with a small dog being held down by another boy, and the brat from the day before, Tomoo, holding a very durable-looking vase over the dog. The boy was about to bring the vase down… but Joe rushed in at the last minute and caught the vase, fixing Tomoo with a menacing stare. Tomoo looked up, and started to tremble. Joe grabbed a handful of Tomoo's hair, took the vase from his hand and brought the vase down on Tomoo's head so hard he thought he cracked it. As soon as the vase made contact, he let go of Tomoo's hair, reducing the brat to a whining mess on the floor.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" asked Joe, who then turned his attention to the other two boys. He made it plainly clear that if the boys knew what was good for them, they would let Kaede and her puppy friend go.

"Now, get out of here," he said.

The girl that had helped Kaede the day before was there, too. However, by her demeanor, it seemed to Joe that she set this all up.

But what demanded his attention at the moment was the girl on the floor holding the nearly-beaten puppy. She held onto that dog like his and her life depended on it.

Joe came over to Kaede, bent down to her level and smiled at her.

"Who's this little fella?" he asked, smiling.

Joe's smile vanished when he saw the tears in the girl's eyes.

"He's the only true friend I've made here," she said. "And I almost lost him."

Joe reached a hand out to the puppy and petted its head. It licked his hand as a response.

"What's his name?" asked Joe.

Kaede seemed to avoid Joe's gaze.

"He…doesn't have one," she said.

"Oh, come on," said Joe. "Every puppy's got to have a name."

Kaede looked thoughtful for a minute before answering.

"Gendo," she said. "His name is Gendo.

Joe continued to pet the dog and started to talk to it in a funny voice.

"Nice to meet you, Gendo," he said. "You've got a really brave owner here. Yes you do."

Gendo let out a small yelp while Kaede just looked puzzled.

"Brave?" she asked.

"Yes," said Joe. "You were very brave to stand up to those kids."

"But you saved him," said Kaede. "I couldn't do anything. They almost…"

Kaede pulled Gendo tighter to her and started to cry. Joe patted her head.

"Everything's okay now, Kaede," he said. "They can't hurt you or Gendo now."

Kaede shook her head.

"They'll come back," she said. "They'll find him. And they'll kill him."

Joe tried to show kindness to the girl. He wanted to show her that she had nothing to fear. It was obvious that her fear still lingered when she asked Joe a favor.

"Sir, would you…" she began, finding it hard to speak.

"Would I what?" asked Joe.

With that, Kaede held the puppy up to his face.

"Would you please take him?" she asked. "He needs a good home. He needs someone to love him."

Joe was shocked at the little girl's selflessness.

"But he already has someone to love him," he said, frowning.

"But I can't protect him forever," said Kaede. "Please?"

Joe decided to put his plan into action.

"Sure," he said, "I'll take him with me. There's just something I have to do first."

He hoisted Kaede to her feet, and he led her to the front desk. Joe rang the bell and waited for the receptionist, who didn't take long to come to the counter.

"It's good to see you, Mr. Martino," she said, smiling. "How may I help you?"

Joe smiled as well.

"I believe I have found the child I'd like to adopt," he said.

"Truly?" asked the receptionist.

"Yep," said Joe.

"Well, who is the little dear?" asked the receptionist.

Joe looked back at Kaede and Gendo, beckoning them forward.

"Come here, sweetie," he said.

Kaede inched her way toward the counter.

"This one?" asked the receptionist, frowning.

"Yeah," said Joe.

The woman gave a wry chuckle.

"Well, surely there must be another child who's piqued your interest? I could bring up a face book for you-"

"No," interrupted Joe. It was plain as day to him since he ran into Kaede in the halls that everyone had a very low opinion of her. But he was infuriated that it seemed to stem from nothing other than her looks.

"Look miss," said Joe. "I've been here for two days, and met almost every child this orphanage has on its shoulders. And this girl is the best-behaved one I've seen, by far."

That wasn't entirely true. He didn't meet almost all of the children, but he didn't really need to in order to learn that a good portion of them were bratty little demon spawn. And the front desk person didn't need to know that in order to figure out that he was not happy with them. This woman seemed as though her job was too important to her to risk pissing him off, because what she said next was very compliant.

"Very well…I'll draw up the documents and we'll finalize it later."

"Thank you," said Joe, smiling. He then turned to Kaede.

"Come along, Kaede," he said. "You too, Gendo."

Just as they were about to enter Igabashi's office, Kaede stopped moving. He turned to look back at her.

"What's wrong, Kaede?" he asked.

"Why?" she responded in a small voice.

"Why what?" asked Joe.

"Why do you want me?" asked Kaede, looking at him as though he was dangerous. "What do you want?"

Joe bent down to her eye level again.

"I came to this orphanage for two reasons," said Joe. "First, I heard that this orphanage could really use some money to help with its costs. And second, because I've always wanted a child of my very own. I meant what I said back there to that mean lady. You're the best-behaved kid I've seen here."

Kaede shook her head, gesturing at her face.

"But look at me," she said. "I'm so…different."

Joe laughed.

"So am I. You just can't see it."

Kaede looked at the ground, causing Joe to tilt her face to meet his again.

"Hey," he said. "Everything will be okay. Listen, if you don't want to go with me, I'll understand. But could you think about it for a while?"

Kaede looked at him for a moment, but then nodded her head.

"Okay," she said.

"Okay, good," said Joe. "Now, come on. I need to talk to your principal."

Joe led Kaede and Gendo into Igabashi's office. Kaede sat down in a chair next to Joe, and held Gendo in her lap as Joe spoke to Igabashi.

"I've found the child I would like to adopt, Mr. Igabashi," he said.

Igabashi looked to Kaede, then back to Joe.

"That's wonderful news," said Igabashi. Though Joe had the feeling that that meant more than he said.

"All that's left now is to write up that check for your institution," said Joe.

He pulled out his checkbook and started to write all of the information out.

"Mr. Igabashi, how soon would I be able to take Kaede with me?" he asked.

Igabashi was silent for a second, but then spoke.

"If you'd like to take her tonight, you're more than welcome," he said.

"That's wonderful news," said Joe. "I would like to take her out to dinner and get to know her a little better. Would that be okay by this school?"

Igabashi merely nodded as Joe finished writing out the check and handing it to Igabashi.

"You have a pleasant evening, Mr. Martino," said Igabashi. "And good luck with your new dependent."

Joe nodded.

"Well, Kaede," he said. "Let's get going. Your principal has just told me I can go ahead and take you to dinner."

Kaede bowed toward the principal.

"Thank you, sir," she said.

As they left the room, Kaede spoke up again.

"Mr. Martino?" she asked.

"Yes, Kaede?" responded Joe. "What is it?"

"Do you… still want to adopt me?" asked Kaede.

"Yes I do," said Joe. "But I'm not going to force either you or Gendo to come with me."

Kaede nodded, then spoke again.

"I've decided…I can't stand this place anymore," she said. "Please take us out of here. You don't have to keep us. Just please don't make us stay here another minute."

Hearing this, Joe bent down and gave Kaede a hug.

"I'll take you with me when I go," he said. "You don't have to stay here any longer."

Kaede smiled, but then returned to her original expression.

"We'll grab dinner and then we'll come back," said Joe.

With that, Joe exited the orphanage with Kaede in tow, and Gendo following close behind.

On the way to the car, Joe sent a message to the Assassins saying that he'd gotten hold of Kaede, and would have a meeting with them soon to discuss their plan of action.

Joe spent dinner, the return to the orphanage and the return to his hotel room trying to make Kaede feel as safe and comfortable as possible. He was very surprised at how polite and well-behaved Kaede was, asking what she should call him, and even asking politely if she could be allowed to go to bed. As bedtime neared, he told Kaede that it would be perfectly acceptable. The two went to bed, with each hoping something different. Kaede hoped that this whole thing would work out for the best, while Joe hoped that the Assassins would still go along with whatever he had in mind.

The next day, Joe and Kaede woke and went to have breakfast. After that, Joe took her to the park, hoping that it wouldn't be too risky a move to allow her to play there for a while. He finally decided that since he wouldn't be too far away from her, he could assume she would be safe. If not, he could come in and protect her if needed. He told her to have fun while he went on a walk.

When he saw that Kaede wasn't watching him anymore, he continued to watch her through the trees, and as he watched, he made a phone call to the Assassins. As he phoned in, Ganta picked up.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Ganta, did my message get through to you?" asked Joe.

"Yes it did, Joseph," said Ganta. "We're looking forward to our next meeting."

"Just in case any of you were wondering, so far, the girl seems to be taking her new situation fairly well," said Joe. "It seems that she had a really tough time while she was at the orphanage."

"How do you mean?" asked Ganta.

"Like, 'I was doing her a favor by taking her out of there,' tough," said Joe. "While she was there, she was endlessly tormented by a bunch of brats, and they nearly killed an abandoned puppy she was taking care of."

For a moment, Ganta was silent.

"Well," he said, "hopefully, a loving hand will give her incentive to continue complying with you. Tamaki asked me to continue with your updates."

"Will do, Ganta," said Joe.

With that, he hung up his cell and went to meet Kaede at the car.

Having never been a parent before, Joe felt completely unprepared for what happened next. Kaede came back to the car looking very depressed. When they returned to the hotel room, Joe learned that it was because she had trust issues with a boy she met at the park. However, with a good, long talk, Joe managed to convince her that she should give the boy a chance. At his successfully making the little girl smile with hope, he started to feel more and more like a parent.

Over the next few days, Joe brought the girl to the park to meet up with the boy again, and started to do little things for her in order to assure that she could trust him with whatever he felt like.

Kaede soon asked if it would be okay for her to go by herself to meet the boy Kohta, as Joe soon learned was his name.

Joe didn't particularly like the idea, but he couldn't refuse anything to the girl at this stage of their relationship if he wanted her to trust him. So, in order for them to keep in touch, Joe bought the girl a cell phone of her own. During one of her trips to the park by herself, Joe went to yet another meeting with the Japanese Assassins. Upon arriving at the basement, he was met with a few nervous looks.

"Welcome, Joseph," said Tamaki.

Joe didn't take his seat this time, preferring to stand.

"I am sure that you're all wondering why I've let Kaede go off on her own without me," said Joe.

Tamaki nodded.

"Well," said Joe. "I believe that for the time being, Kaede is safe. The Templars currently don't have access to her records, and wouldn't be able to find them without drawing attention to themselves. And since they can't do so, they will be clueless about her location for quite some time. Also, since their scout hasn't reported back yet, they are undoubtedly still waiting for his report. I believe it will still be some time before they send another person to find her."

"That is a possibility, Joseph," said Tamaki. "But we have recently picked up a great deal of Templar movement. We believe that they may be planning an assault. We think they may be on to our strategy to keep the girl out of their grasp."

Tamaki took a sip of some tea at the table.

"We are not unsatisfied with the results of your venture, Joseph," he said. "However, we would like you to ask that from now on, wherever the girl goes, you go. We would like to make sure that the Templars don't engage in a surprise assault that leaves them with the girl in hand."

Joseph cleared his throat.

"You don't need to worry, Master Tamaki," he said. "After tonight, me and Kaede will go together everywhere. However, I would like to ask a favor of you."

"What might that be?" asked Tamaki.

"If the Templars are, indeed, preparing to snatch the girl, I would like to be prepared," said Joe. "You see, there is a summer festival that the girl wants to go to in order to say goodbye to a friend she made recently. If I were leading the Templars, to me, that would seem like the most opportune place to attack. Nobody would look for a kidnapped orphan in a massacre that would take place in a spot like that."

"I see your point," said Tamaki. "And what would your suggestion be?"

"I would like some of your Assassins to take the place of some of the booth operators at the festival," said Joe. "If the Templars do strike, I would like reinforcements."

"Consider it done," said Tamaki. "Ganta, please assure that this happens."

"Understood, Master Tamaki," said Ganta.

After a few more words, the Assassins ended their meeting, chorusing the motto of the Assassins and taking their leave.

The next day, Joe took Gendo and Kaede to go shopping for clothes in which to go to the festival. They soon settled on a new yukata for Kaede and made their way out to the festival. As they made their way through the crowd, Joseph stopped at a few booths in order to verify which booth operators were Assassins and which were civilians. He soon stopped searching after he saw that Dumont was one of the operators. In order to assure that his cover would not be blown, he followed Kaede to meet the boy, Kohta. And after diffusing a situation that could possibly have ended badly, they met with Kohta's family, who happily joined them in walking through the festival and having fun with each other. They had bumped into a young woman named Miyuki, who was happy to join them as well. When there was little more than half an hour left of the festival, Joe heard a loud screeching noise.

To accompany the noise was a group of large black vans. Out of the vans stepped a group of men in black suits.

"Dad… what's going on?" asked Kohta.

"I don't know, son," said Kohta's father.

Joe, however, looked alarmed at what he saw. In one of each of the groups, there was one man who stood toward the front of them, wearing a pin in the shape of a red iron cross.

"Everyone," said Joe, stiffly, "back away slowly and carefully."

As they started to, Joe saw the men pull out rifles and start firing into the crowd. A few people went down, but it didn't look like anyone had been killed. However, pandemonium was soon created as people began to run all over the place.

"Everyone, around that corner, and stick together!" said Joe, guiding them behind one of the festival's kiosks.

When they were out of the line of fire, Joe spoke to the Hakuros and their new friend.

"You guys are going out of town by train, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Mr. Hakuro. "We're actually supposed to be at the station in about thirty minutes."

Joe nodded.

"Take Miyuki, Kohta, Kanae and Yuka with you, go there, and don't stop until you've reached the station," he said. "Run as fast as you can."

"What about you?" asked Mr. Hakuro.

"We'll be fine," said Joe. "Go!"

As soon as Joe finished speaking, Mr. Hakuro and the rest of the group ran away from the festival, going toward the train station. Joe then led Kaede through a group of kiosks, with them ducking down when they needed to.

"Joe, what's going on?" asked Kaede.

"We have to get out of here, Kaede," said Joe. "These guys will hurt us really badly if we stay here."

As soon as he said that, however, both he and Kaede saw one of the men in black go chasing after the Hakuros.

"NO!" yelled Kaede, breaking away from Joe and running in that direction.

"KAEDE!" exclaimed Joe, beginning to chase after her. He was soon cut off by one of the men in black coming at him with a nightstick. Joe ducked just in time. He drew his hidden blade, and signaled the Assassins in the kiosks to come out of hiding and back him up. Every Assassin engaged a different person. Joe blocked the man's nightstick this time with his hidden blade, shoving him backwards with a kick, then jumping onto him and sinking his blade into the man's chest. He twisted once before pulling out, then attacking yet another Templar. This time, he drew out his own telescopic nightstick and clubbed his new target over the head with it. He repeated the action once, twice, three times. When his target was on the ground, Joe pulled the trigger on the pistol hidden in his bracer, and shot the man in the chest. He was soon taken by surprise by another Templar who knocked the nightstick out of his hand and floored Joe with his own kick in the chest. He brought his nightstick up to Joe's head.

"Die well, Assassin," said the man, preparing to club Joe in the head.

"You first, Templar scum!" spat Joe. He brought his other arm upward, and released the trigger on his finger. A bullet came out of the pistol in his bracer, and hit his attacker right between the eyes.

"Joseph!" Joe heard a person yell as he got up.

Joe turned his attention to the voice.

"We'll handle these barbarians!" said Dumont. "You go after the girl! They must not get their hands on her!"

Joe nodded his head.

"Victory to the Assassins!" he said as he ran in the direction Kaede had been running, sheathing his hidden blade. He was temporarily stopped at one of the kiosks by a familiar dog.

"Gendo?" asked Joe. "What the hell are you doing here?"

The pup merely barked in response.

"Never mind. We have to find Kaede."

At this, Gendo gave a low growl. Joe picked him up and continued to run toward the station. Along the way, he found a Templar agent closing in on Kaede. He withdrew his hidden blade and pounced on the man, bringing his arm around his neck, and plunging the blade into his back. He then withdrew the blade and continued running after Kaede, who by now had jumped onto the back of the train that the Hakuros were undoubtedly on.

As Kaede closed the door in the back of the train, the train began to pick up speed. However, it was not enough speed, as Joe had to run a mere fifteen seconds before being able to jump on himself. He then entered the back of the train. As he got closer to the front of the car, he could hear noise.

"Leave them alone, you bastard!" exclaimed a high-pitched voice.

"Kaede!" exclaimed another.

Joe pulled his hidden blade out, thinking he would need to intervene, when he heard Kaede shriek again.

"NO!"

The voice was accompanied by a huge pounding sound, it sounded like it was hitting all sides of the train. Joe entered the next car and found that the Hakuros' attacker was being slammed all over the sides of the train by some invisible force. He soon determined that the force came from Kaede. This had to be what the Templars were after.

"Kaede! That's enough!" exclaimed Joe.

Kaede turned back, looking worriedly at him and her dog, then looking toward the Hakuros, who seemed shocked by everything that had happened. Kaede calmly set the man down, then opened a door on the side of the train, and pushed him out the door.

She took one last look around the car before she finally passed out on the floor. Upon her passing out, everyone came up to examine her.

"Oh my gosh," said Kohta. "Is she going to be okay?"

Gendo hopped out of Joe's hands and started to lick Kaede's face, whining at her state. Joe bent down and felt her pulse, then her forehead. He then pressed his lips to her forehead.

"It looks like she has a fever," he said. "We need to get off this train."

Joe pulled the emergency stop switch, and the train coasted to a stop. The people on the train all got off, and looked at what was happening. The Hakuros and Joe pulled Kaede off the train, carrying the unconscious girl over to the conductor, who had asked what was going on.

"She needs to be taken to a hospital," said Joe.

With that, the conductor put everyone back on the train, except for the Hakuros, who elected to get off with the Martinos and make sure that their savior came out alright.

Joe took Kaede briefly to the hospital, and the doctor, finding nothing wrong with her and giving Joe a subscription for fever relief pills, dismissed them. After this, Joe led the Hakuros back to their hotel room, where Joe set Kaede into her bed with Gendo beside her, and laid a washcloth over her forehead.

"She looks exhausted," said Yuka.

"I hope she's going to be alright!" exclaimed Kohta's little sister, Kanae. "She's my hero!"

Mr. Hakuro looked very worried about Kohta's new friend, however.

"I'm a little bit… I don't know… apprehensive about this. Mr. Martino, did you know about these powers of hers?"

"No, I didn't," said Joe, looking just a little irritated. "And I don't think she did either, until now."

"I'm not saying there's anything wrong with them. It just seemed… a little scary the way she dealt with that man," said Mr. Hakuro.

"Oh, come on, Dad!" exclaimed Kohta. "Do you know what we'd be right now if she hadn't helped us?"

"I'm going to have to be frank here and say, 'dead as fried chicken,'" said Joe.

"Daddy!" exclaimed Kanae. "Kaede saved our lives! She's a hero!"

"I don't think that Kaede wanted to hurt us at all, Dad," said Kohta. "You heard how she spoke to that creep on the train."

Mr. Hakuro thought back to what had happened on the train, and remembered how terrified Kaede looked at the prospect of their group being killed.

"You have a point, son," said Mr. Hakuro. "My apologies, Mr. Martino. My kids are right. Your daughter saved our lives. If you or your daughter ever need anything from us, you can just give us a call."

Joe smiled as Kaede started to wake up.

When she was fully awake, the entire group had a heart-to-heart that ended with Kaede being accepted as a friend and officially Joe's daughter. Soon, arrangements were made for the family to come back to Japan occasionally for their summer breaks in order to meet with Kohta again. Joe then hired Miyuki as his personal assistant in Japan, and she helped him make arrangements for a summer home in Japan. As soon as their new home was set up, Kaede went to bed feeling happy for the first time in a long time, and Joe secretly went out on another Assassin mission, which led up to this moment.

Joe was very near his target, the Templar agent who orchestrated the Summer Festival Massacre. He had finally found the man at a docking bay. Joe decided to take a high vantage point. He found a scaffolding a good distance away from the docks, and waited for the man to pass by with his escorts. As they passed by, Joe readied his dart gun. He pulled a clip full of poison darts from his belt, and loaded the gun. He shot each of the man's escorts with a poison dart. Within a matter of seconds, they all collapsed, leaving their charge in a state of great panic. Joe then withdrew his hidden blades, dropped down from the scaffolding, landed on the man and plunged them into the man's chest.

"You…you are… one of the men who defended the crowd…" the man said.

"I am," said Joe. "You still have time to atone for your sins. Tell me, why did you organize the attack on that festival?"

"We had to… take the horned girl…" said the man, coughing slightly.

"How did you know she was there?" asked Joe.

The man coughed again.

"I…saw the girl…with her friend…a little boy…they mentioned a fest…ival…"

Those were the man's last words.

"May your death insure the safety of others," said Joe. "Requiescat in pace."

Joe left the scene of the Assassination quickly, sending a signal to the others to clean up the evidence and keep the police away from the scene. Soon, Joe was back at his and Kaede's house. He took off his gear and got ready for bed once again. Before finally going to bed, he went to check on Kaede. He opened the door a crack and peeked in. Sure enough, she was still asleep with a smile on her face, and Gendo was asleep nearby. He closed the door, and went back to his room.

When he came in, he smiled at how everything was coming together. Soon, he and Kaede would be back in the U.S., and he would be starting his life as a father. Over the time since her adoption, Kaede had become much more than a person of interest for the Templars. She became his daughter. And he swore as he finally fell asleep that he would do whatever he could to make her life happy.

**Assassin's Creed:**

**Elf Song**

**Kaede Martino/Luccia la Veneziana: ****Kira Vincent-Davis**

**Ezio Auditore da Firenze: ****Roger Craig Smith**

**Joe Martino: ****Troy Baker**

**Kohta Hakuro/Ahmed: ****Adam Conlon**

**Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad: ****Cas Anvar**

**Yuka Hakuro: ****Nancy Novotny**

**Kanae Hakuro: ****Monica Rial**

**Mayu Hakuro: ****Cynthia Martinez**

**Nana Kurama: ****Sasha Paysinger**

**Nozomi: ****Tia Ballard**

**Aiko Takada: ****Karen Strassman**

**Mariko Kurama: ****Luci Christian**

**Alan Fixer: ****Johnny Yong Bosch**

**Ezekiel "Zeke" Garner: ****Steven Jay Blum**

**Vito Perelli: ****Todd Haberkorn**

**Laura Armstrong: ****Jamie Marchi**

**Sandy McGill: ****Megan Hollingshead**

**Director Kurama: ****Jay Hickman**

**Doctor Arakawa: ****Jessica Boone**

**Kisaragi: ****Tiffany Grant**

**Deputy Director Shirakawa: ****Shelley Calene-Black**

**Bando: ****Jason Douglas**

**Shaun Hastings: ****Danny Wallace**

**Yoshi Hakuro: ****John Swasey**

**Megami: ****Kate Higgins**

**Isobe: ****Rick Piersall**

**Saito: ****Allison Sumrall**

**Mayu's Mother: ****Christine Auten**

**Mayu's Stepfather: ****Ty Mahany**

**Professor Kakuzawa: ****John Swasey**

**Tomoo: ****Chris Patton**

**Traitor Girl: ****Allison Sumrall**

**Unknown Man: ****Brian Drummond**

**Adam: ****Vic Mignogna**

**Rodrigo Borgia: ****Manuel Tadros**

**Cesare Borgia: ****Andreas Apergis**

**Chief Kakuzawa: ****Andy McAvin**

**Warren Vidic: ****Phil Proctor**

To Be Continued.

A/N: I don't know where all of that came from! I hope you guys enjoyed reading that! My main aim with this chapter was to give Joe a lot more substance. In my story, there will be a lot of sequences where you will see Joe on a mission. I will be writing this story so that Kaede's life somewhat mirrors Ezio's. With that in mind, the sequences that have Joe in them will be a lot like Assassin's Creed: Lineage, in which Ezio's father, Giovanni, is seen on assassination missions. I hope you guys noticed the cast that I wrote up for this story. This story is not ending. Not by a long shot. I had hoped that writing up the cast would help you get an idea of what the characters' voices sound like. Obviously, I kept the voice actors for the canon Elfen Lied and Assassin's Creed characters the same. But the ones that either were my creation or didn't have English voice actors, I went ahead and gave some. I hope that I make the experience of reading this story more exciting. If I have my way, this will be a very long, very exciting story. I also would like to apologize for not updating sooner. What with trying to find a job, trying to get caught up on the television I missed, trying to write up on my books, catching up on video games I've bought, trying to line things up for my next year of college and just recently turning 21, I've been really flustered with everything. However, since this chapter's done, hopefully the next chapter should be a lot less of a challenge! Until then, catch you later!


	4. Changes

"Assassin's Creed: Elf Song"

By cdc100

Summary: As a child, Kaede is adopted, and now has a loving family. However, when her new father is kidnapped, she must learn the ways of the Assassins in order to save him.

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fanfiction. Elfen Lied is the property of AEsir Holdings, Madman Entertainment, Studio Arms, Anime Network and Lynn Okamoto. And Assassin's Creed is the property of Ubisoft, Patrice Desilets, Jade Raymond and Corey May. Please support the official releases.

Chapter Four

"Changes"

**Eight Years Later…**

Kaede woke up to the sound of loud beeping. Though still groggy, she recognized it as the Mickey Mouse alarm clock she had. She reached over and slammed her hand on the "off" switch, and sat up in the bed.

(A/N: Kaede Martino – Kira Vincent-Davis)

"God…I have _got_ to change alarms," she said.

As soon as she spoke, she felt something warm and fuzzy rubbing against her bare leg. Looking down, she saw Gendo. The large dog was rubbing his nose against her leg, trying to coax his mistress out of bed.

"Hey, Gendo," she said, smiling. "Sleep well?"

The dog whined and looked at the alarm clock, then back at Kaede. She looked at the clock too, and made the connection.

"Yeah, you and me both, buddy," she said, scratching the dog behind the ears.

With that, Kaede jumped out of bed, and went to her bedroom window. She pulled back the drapes and let in the day's first light, and watched the city of Los Angeles bask in the early morning glow. She smiled at first, giving a good stretch as the light hit her, but then frowned as she remembered how she was dressed…or, rather, not dressed. She was wearing no pajama bottoms, and the shirt she was wearing was one button away from being completely open. With that in mind, she shut the drapes once again and went over to the closet. She pulled out a pair of short denim shorts, a pink spaghetti-strap top and a short-sleeved denim over shirt. She then put on some ankle-length socks. Finally, she took a purple ribbon off her dresser, stood in front of her mirror, and fastened the ribbon to her hair in such a way that her horns would be hidden. She picked up her electric pink backpack and opened her bedroom door.

"Well, Gendo," she said, "Let's go get some breakfast!"

Gendo barked and followed her out of her room and down the stairs. There, Kaede went into the house's pantry and pulled out a large bag of dog food and Gendo's bowl. She filled the bowl up and put the bag away. Then she got out some pastries and shoved them into the toaster.

"Eat up, buddy," she said. "I gotta go wake dad up."

Kaede ran back up the stairs and to her father's bedroom just across the stairwell from hers. She opened the door carefully, tiptoed over to her father's bed and gently tapped him.

Joe jumped up and pulled Kaede onto the bed, tickling and kissing her, causing Kaede to shriek and laugh at the same time.

"You thought I was asleep, didn't you? Huh?!" exclaimed Joe, smiling. "What do you want?"

"I'm making breakfast, Dad," said Kaede. "Gendo's eating and the toaster's about to pop. So get your writer's-blocked butt out of bed and come down."

Joe laid back down.

(A/N: Joseph Martino, A.K.A. "Halcón" – Troy Baker)

"I'll be down in a minute," he said. "I've just got to let my body catch up to my brain in the 'waking up' department."

"I'll butter your pop tarts," she said, leaving his room and going back downstairs. Once down, she pulled the pastries out of the toaster and buttered them all, then, using the hands she'd discovered eight years ago, she got out the milk and poured it into two glasses. Joe came downstairs just in time to witness this.

"You're getting better," he said.

Kaede smiled.

"Thanks," she said. "So, what do you have planned for today?"

"Eh," squeaked Joe. "I thought I'd write some today, then play a few songs on Guitar Hero."

"That's as far as you planned?" asked Kaede, frowning. "You know, you are capable of doing something constructive. Besides, you're not even that good at Guitar Hero."

"Yeah," said Joe. "But the most constructive thing I could do right now is write up my lesson plan, which, by some miracle, is the only thing that doesn't need written up right now."

Kaede smiled wryly.

"It must be nice being able to just relax all day," she said.

"You should try it," said Joe. "It's not too late. You haven't missed a single day of school this year. I could take you to Japan ten days early."

Kaede laughed.

"Thanks, Dad," she said, taking a bite of her pastry. "But I already have it way better than Kohta and the others. Our summer vacation is at least twice as long as theirs."

Joe smiled, digging into his pastry. After a few bites, he took a sip of milk.

"So, what have you been hearing from them these days?" he asked.

"Kohta and the others?" asked Kaede. "Well, I spoke to Yuka, and apparently, her mom is letting Kohta stay in a house near the bay so that he doesn't have to get a dorm room for college."

Joe acknowledged Kaede's statement with a grunt.

"Have you heard from Aiko lately?"

Kaede smiled.

"She and her mother are having a wonderful time," she said. "They've just returned from one of her mother's art exhibitions in Italy."

Joe chuckled.

"That's good news," he said.

"What about you?" asked Kaede.

"What about me?" asked Joe.

"Well, have you heard from Kohta's dad?" asked Kaede.

"He and Miyuki are still going strong," said Joe. "They're considering having a second honeymoon fairly soon."

"You know, it was very generous of you to pay for their wedding," said Kaede.

As Joe finished up his second pop tart, he shrugged.

"Well, what can I say?" he asked. "I've got plenty. And if I didn't have a friend or two that I liked, I'd either end up blowing it all on myself or you."

"I wouldn't mind the second part so much," joked Kaede.

Joe snickered.

"Just keep your grades up, and you can expect a big payout from me," he said.

"I was just kidding, Dad," said Kaede. "You give me enough of an allowance as it is."

Joe nodded.

"So, what are _your_ plans today?" he asked.

"Nothing, really," said Kaede. "I was just going to meet up with the others at school and hang out. I'm going to be without them for a while, so I might as well make the time I have with them fun."

"That's the truth," said Joe. "Well, you'd better hurry up. School starts in about half an hour."

"Right," said Kaede, wolfing down her pop tarts and guzzling down her milk.

"Very ladylike," said Joe, smirking.

This earned him a scowl from Kaede.

"Hey, sorry," said Joe, holding up his hands. "You need me to drive you?"

"That's okay, Dad," said Kaede, pulling on her shoes. "After those two pop tarts, I'll need the exercise."

"You know, two pop tarts aren't going to make you fat," said Joe.

"I know," said Kaede. "I just don't want it to catch up to me. I'll see you after school, Dad. I love you."

"Love you too, sweetheart," said Joe, digging into his second pop tart as Kaede shut the door behind her.

Kaede jumped onto her bicycle, and raced out of the driveway.

_The heat is on_

_ On the street_

She raced down a downhill sidewalk.

_Inside your head_

_On every beat_

She swerved left after reaching the bottom of the slope, going down yet another slope.

_ And the beat's so loud_

_Deep inside_

She waved as she passed by some pedestrians

_ The pressure's high_

_ Just to stay alive_

She looked at her watch.

_ Cause the heat is on_

Even though she wasn't pressed for time, she saw a light about to turn red up ahead. The walk or don't walk sign had a flashing hand and started its countdown.

"Challenge accepted," smiled Kaede.

_ Oh-wo-ho, oh-wo-ho,_

_ Caught up in the action_

_ I've been lookin out for you_

_ Oh-wo-ho, oh-wo-ho_

_ (Tell me can you feel it)_

_ (Tell me can you feel it)_

_ (Tell me can you feel it)_

She made it through the light just as the timer reached "1."

_ The heat is on_

_ The heat is on_

_ The heat is on_

_ Oh it's on the street_

Kaede reached the school in no time, and mounted her bike on one of the bike racks.

_ The heat is_

_ On_

"Good thing I'm not in a Japanese high school," said Kaede. "I'd have been fighting to make sure I wasn't showing anything the whole way."

She locked her bike lock, and pulled off her backpack, thanking whatever higher power existed that her locker was just inside. As soon as she got inside, she opened her locker, pulled out her things for her first class, then put up her backpack and shut her locker. Not far from her locker, she could see a figure coming toward her with a familiar limp.

"Hey, Alan," she said, smiling. "How's it going?"

"Not bad," said Alan. "Forget what time school starts again?"

(A/N: Alan Fixer – Johnny Yong Bosch)

"No. Just kind of slow getting ready for school," she said, pulling out and opening a small case that contained mints. She pulled one out and popped it into her mouth.

The boy that approached her was none other than her friend, Alan Fixer. Alan was the same age as her and Kohta. He wore small rectangular glasses and dressed fairly well. He was almost always seen carrying a black, wooden cane, due to an injury he suffered years before. Alan was of Native American descent, and without his glasses, in Kaede's opinion, he looked a lot like Kohta. The only noticeable differences between the two were how long Alan's hair was compared to Kohta's, how much darker Alan's skin was, and the difference in eye color.

"Skip on brushing your teeth again?" he asked.

Kaede scowled playfully at him.

"What business is that of yours?" she asked.

"I guess none," said Alan. "Anyway, the only reason I asked is because you seemed rushed coming through the door. Were you racing traffic?"

"As a matter of fact…" began Kaede, putting a finger to her chin.

Alan laughed, knowing she was joking.

"I gotta confess," said Alan. "Part of the reason I came is because the others were kind of wondering where you were. Sandy was practically beside herself."

"Where are they right now?" asked Kaede.

"Laura, Zeke and Sandy are up at the cafeteria, getting some late breakfast," said Alan.

"They should have sent Zeke to see if I was here," said Kaede.

"I volunteered," said Alan. "I needed the exercise."

"Has your leg been stiffening up again?" asked Kaede.

"Just a little," said Alan. "It'll get better. It always does."

"You need me to help you up the stairs?" asked Kaede.

Alan chuckled.

"No, I'll be fine," he said. "Don't worry."

"You sure?" asked Kaede. "It wouldn't take much for me. I could lift you up and put you right on the landing."

"Like I said, I need the exercise," said Alan.

"So do my extra arms," said Kaede.

"You know, I hear they may get their chance pretty soon," said Alan. "Zeke told me all about the scuffle the two of you had with Terry Jenkins. He said you challenged him to a fight."

"Would you prefer I told the truth?" asked Kaede.

Alan smirked.

"I get the feeling you just did," he said. "Look. Just be careful, okay? I don't want to have to explain to your dad how your pretty face got crushed in."

"Come on, Alan," said Kaede. "Jenkins is a puss. Besides, even if he wasn't, Zeke will be with me. So I'll be fine.

"If you say so," said Alan.

The two of them came to the stairs, and Alan placed the stopper of his cane on the first step.

"You know, with all the grants this school gets, you'd think they'd install more than one elevator," he said, struggling to get his bad leg off the bottom floor. "I know that at least one person in this school uses a wheelchair."

Kaede shook her head, took Alan's arm and slung it over her shoulders.

"Alright, up we go," she said, helping him walk up despite his earlier protests.

"Thanks, Kaede," he said.

Soon they were up the stairs, and they walked to the cafeteria. Upon reaching it, they found their other friends sitting and waiting.

"What took you so long, Al?" asked a boy who was slightly older than Alan. This was their friend Zeke Garner. He was a little taller than Alan, and smirked cockily at them. The most distinguishing feature this boy possessed was a black eyepatch over his right eye.

"Don't tell me the stairs got you again?" he asked.

(A/N: Ezekiel "Zeke" Garner – Steve Blum)

"You only have yourselves to blame, sending a cripple off to find our friend," said Alan, smiling.

"I seem to recall you saying, 'Oh, don't worry about it, guys, I'll go look for her,'" said Zeke.

"Doesn't matter," said another boy, who was the youngest of the group. This was Vito Perelli. He was the shortest of the group, even below Kaede's stature. He was well-dressed for someone his age, wearing a button-up shirt and a suit jacket.

"The important thing is, they're both here, now," said Vito.

(A/N: Vito Perelli – Todd Haberkorn)

One girl, Sandy McGill, spoke up.

"I've been looking for those cute little eary-ears of yours all morning!" she exclaimed.

(A/N: Sandy McGill – Megan Hollingshead)

"For God's sake, Sandy," said Kaede. "We've talked about this. Just because they're there doesn't mean you can touch them."

"How can you say that to me?" whined Sandy.

"Give it a rest, Sandy," said the other girl, Laura Armstrong.

(A/N: Laura Armstrong – Jamie Marchi)

"But why?" asked Sandy. "They're so cute! They make her wook wike a cute wittle kitty cat!"

"Sandy, they're Kaede's body parts," said Laura. "It's no different than you coming up behind me and grabbing my boobs."

"Like this?" asked Zeke, whose hands Laura suddenly felt on her chest.

"What the-?!" exclaimed Laura, promptly turning around and punching Zeke.

"AGH! MY EYE!" exclaimed Zeke, placing his hand over his only eye. "Why do you always aim for that?!"

"Because going for your groin is too derivative," said Laura, turning back around and continuing with her bagel with cream cheese.

"It's good to see you, Kaede," she said. "How was the weekend?"

"Not bad," said Kaede. "Thanks again for coming over on Friday."

"Oh, like we would miss out on any video game tournament your dad throws," said Zeke, still rubbing his eye.

"Yeah," said Alan. "I love a chance to shine."

Vito shrugged.

"It was the least I could do, Kaede," he said.

Kaede smiled and sat down with her friends.

"You guys got any plans today?" she asked.

"Stuff a few thumbtacks into my asshole of a history teacher's chair, sabotage the librarian's computer, and get away with it," said Zeke.

"I mean, like, classes," said Kaede.

Alan sighed.

"Calculus is kicking my butt," he said. "I need to get some help so I'm ready for my final next week."

"I can help you with that, Alan," said Laura. "If you were having trouble, you should have come to me in the first place."

"I didn't want to bother you," said Alan.

"Dude," said Zeke. "I'm not going to give you one of those cheesy-ass 'We're friends, we look out for each other,' speeches. But it's just common sense that if you're having trouble, you go straight to Kaede or Laura."

"That's the truth," said Vito. "They've got the best grades out of all of us."

Laura took a sip of milk.

"Anything you're having trouble with, Kaede?" she asked.

"Nope!" she exclaimed.

"Lucky," said Sandy.

"Well, enough about that," said Zeke. "Kaede, ready to lay the smack-down on Jenkins?"

Kaede shrugged.

"Actually, I'm kind of hoping he'll chicken out," she said. "Unlike you, I don't get off on getting detention."

"I do not get off on detentions," growled Zeke. "I just don't think anyone has the right to tell me how to act, how to live, or what to do. And if a bunch of detentions are the price of my point being made, so be it."

"Whatever," said Laura.

"Just remember what I said," said Alan.

"I'll be fine," said Kaede.

As they finished their conversation, the group heard the intercom ding, signifying the end of morning relaxation and five minutes until their first class began. The group bid each other goodbye before going their separate ways to their first classes. As she made her way to her morning history class, Kaede passed a young boy with long black hair. She knew this to be Terry Jenkins. The two said nothing to each other, instead choosing to scowl silently at the other as they passed by.

When the two were well away from each other, Kaede turned a corner and went into her first class of the day. She just sat down in her seat and got comfortable when the bell rang and her teacher walked in. Back when she lived at Kamakura's orphanage, she never pictured herself being in high school, and doing so well.

Kaede was now approaching her senior year of high school. When she first came to America with her new father, she had been unbelievably scared of being in a new place where people could make fun of the way she looked. Regardless of where she was, the horns on her head stuck out like two oddly-shaped sore thumbs. She and Joe had a discussion before coming to the US. After the discussion was over, she decided that Joe was right. If anyone didn't like her just because she looked weird, they were not worth her time. So, she decided to do what Joe said and give school a try. Joe made Kaede a compromise: if she did what he said and took school as it came, and she found that she couldn't take it for whatever reason, Joe would pull her out of public school and find some other means of education for her.

One of the first things Joe did with Kaede after adopting her was take her clothes shopping. He felt that one of the best things they could do at the time was allow her to choose her look. She picked out all her own clothes. After she put together enough of her own outfits, she began to feel more confident in herself. Joe chose a few finishing touches for her outfits, which consisted of a few different hats, some headbands, and a long purple ribbon, which she could use to fasten around her horns.

Kaede was surprised in the first few months of school. Nobody made fun of how she looked, but nobody really came to talk to her either. They didn't seem to dislike her; they just seemed indifferent. She never really bothered to get to know anyone in her year until one day, she bumped into Alan. She at first mistook him for Kohta with a really dark tan. She realized her mistake when she saw the color of his eyes, that he wore glasses, and that he carried a cane. However, when she explained the situation to him, he merely laughed it off, and invited her to hang out.

As Kaede learned, Alan was quite well-liked among most of the students, and as the students saw Kaede and Alan hanging out, more and more people began to talk to Kaede, and she started to make real friends. With each new friend she made, Kaede grew happier and happier. Some of their friends actually had a group that practiced what Kaede learned was called "parkour," which she became fascinated with. Thus, Kaede began to practice with her friends in this interesting art. Her friends agreed she was a natural.

However, not everyone viewed Kaede as a welcome addition to the school, for it wasn't long after she began making these new friends that she first encountered Terry Jenkins, who, in her book, was the most unpleasant person in her year. After Kaede became more prominent in the students' eyes, Jenkins began to openly mock her in class, but Kaede was smart enough to put him in his place whenever she needed to.

However, that wasn't always enough. Just as Kaede and Alan had their own circle of friends, Jenkins had his own circle, though not a circle of what he considered to be friends. Whatever they were, Jenkins sometimes organized little surprises for Kaede, attempting to humiliate her in one way or another. However, Jenkins found that Kaede was able to escape or avoid these situations altogether. Jenkins didn't know how she was doing it, but Kaede was mastering the use of the "hands" she had used to save Kohta and his family, and when it came to evading Jenkins' tricks, those hands came in rather…for lack of a better term, "handy."

Because of her inability to succumb to his taunts and tricks, Jenkins singled out Kaede as his sworn enemy. Kaede would continue to evade Jenkins' assaults expertly and continuously. A couple of years after she met Alan, a girl from one of her classes ambushed her in the hall and refused to let go of her horns. Kaede came to know the girl as Sandy McGill, who refused to let go of Kaede's horns, not because she thought they were ugly, but because she thought they were really cute. With the two becoming three, Jenkins' traps had become more desperate, often requiring four or more of his lackeys. But with Sandy's keen ability to misdirect, Kaede's wit, and Alan's influence, Jenkins never stood a chance.

The conflict between Kaede and Jenkins quickly escalated into brawls, but there were equal amounts of people willing to fight for both sides of their feud. And as Kaede was stronger than Jenkins (at least with the aid of her extra arms), one person literally made the difference between victory and defeat, in these cases.

Kaede and her friends fended off Jenkins' assaults for another year or two until a new boy came to school. That boy came to the school with the intention of spreading chaos. Thinking of this as a grand opportunity, Jenkins attempted to enlist the help of the new boy. However, the boy shrugged off Jenkins' request, telling him that he would find his own way to make people suffer.

The best way to describe this boy was to call him an anarchist. The boy went on a metaphorical rampage through the school, in which neither the faculty nor the students were safe. The boy landed himself in multiple detentions, but it didn't matter. As soon as the boy was out, he was out wreaking general havoc in the school. One day, Kaede and her friends decided to do something about the new arrival. Kaede challenged the boy to a fistfight at lunchtime. The boy thought that he had Kaede beat, but Kaede delivered a reinforced punch to the boy's face, which floored him and nearly dislocated his jaw. Instead of anger, the boy then looked at Kaede with admiration.

The boy explained to Kaede that he didn't want to hurt anyone who didn't deserve it. He only wanted to deliver pain to people who had hurt others. The only reason he had been so indiscriminate up until that point was because he was angry. Kaede sympathized with the boy, telling him about when she was in the orphanage, and allowing that anger to boil over. The boy told her that if she ever needed anyone to protect her, he would. It was then that Kaede welcomed the boy, Ezekiel "Zeke" Garner into their group.

Eventually, Kaede began to trust her friends enough that she told them about her ability. When Zeke learned that Kaede had used this ability to beat him, he was briefly disappointed, but then had an interesting idea. Zeke offered to teach Kaede how to fight, and do it without having to rely on her extra arms. Kaede eagerly accepted his offer, and Zeke began to train Kaede to fight on her own.

Jenkins knew that with Zeke on Kaede's side, he would need to beef up his assets. Instead of sheer brute force, however, he began to enlist the assistance of weak but savvy people in the school who he knew had something to lose by making an enemy of him. With their help, Jenkins was able to get Zeke in trouble often enough that he wouldn't always be able to protect Kaede. This made little difference, though, as Kaede continued to evade Jenkins' schemes the same ways she did before Zeke became friends with her.

When Kaede turned sixteen years old, a new student came to her school. The boy was named Vito Perelli. He was a quiet young man, who nobody seemed to want to talk to. Kaede couldn't figure out why, but everyone seemed to avoid him as though they could die just from being touched by him.

After Vito had been there for a while, Kaede learned from Alan that he was the son of Don Guido Perelli, Los Angeles' most dangerous crime boss. Kaede then began to try and talk to Vito. Instead of welcoming her attention, however, Vito warned Kaede that she should stay away from him. In Vito's voice, Kaede heard some malice, but more than that, she heard a great despair.

Instead of going directly home that night, Kaede followed Vito to what she assumed would be his home. He was surprised to find Vito going to a high-end residence, where she followed Vito to the penthouse. Kaede's cover was blown not long after she entered. She was grabbed by a couple of guards and escorted to the penthouse, where she encountered Vito, and who she assumed was his father.

Don Perelli regarded Kaede carefully, wondering if she was a threat. She told him that she wanted to get to know Vito a little better, not being able to stand when someone seems lonely. This impressed the Don, but what also caught his attention was when he asked her what her name was. When she revealed it to be Kaede Martino, he guessed correctly that she was the daughter of Joseph Martino, who just happened to be a very good friend of his. With that, Don Perelli released Kaede, and told her that she and her friends would be welcome at their place anytime.

As she left the Don's house, Vito approached her and apologized for the way he acted when she talked to him. He told her that the reason he warned her against hanging out with him was to protect her, as he didn't want any of his classmates being killed because of him. Although Vito truly wanted a friend, he was unwilling to allow Kaede to become a victim of his family's wrath in order for that to happen.

Vito's explanation touched Kaede's heart, as she knew exactly what it was like to be in Vito's shoes. When Kaede came to school the day after that, she warmly welcomed Vito into her inner circle of friends. This caused Jenkins a great deal of stress. While Kaede would never depend on Vito's father for assistance with her little quarrels at school, Jenkins did not know this. As such, he began to find ways of removing Vito from the group as well as Zeke.

This seemed to do the trick, as Jenkins was finally able to land a blow on Kaede's side. Jenkins and his cohorts managed to frame Alan, Kaede and Sandy for breaking rules that they did not. After doing some time in detention, Kaede emerged with her friends, furious at Jenkins' tiresome nonsense. So, it was by sheer serendipity that Kaede met the genius girl, Laura Armstrong.

Laura was the top of Kaede's class, and many had bets on her making class valedictorian. By their luck, Laura had several bones to pick with Jenkins, and so enlisting her help was child's play. Thanks to Laura's creative mind, the group was able to sabotage Jenkins' attempts to hurt or humiliate their group in ways they never thought of. To make a long story short, Laura thinned out Jenkins' resources, and even turned some of his people over to their side.

Jenkins' threat still existed to this day, but Kaede had to admit that putting him in his place was now more akin to swatting a mosquito, albeit a really annoying mosquito with a particularly painful bite.

She snickered at that thought as her last class ended.

She picked up her books and headed to her locker, where she found Zeke and the others waiting for her.

"You ready for this?" asked Zeke.

Kaede pulled out her backpack and shoved her books into it.

"Do we really have to do this?" she asked.

"Come on, Kaede," said Laura, exasperated. "We pretty much resolved that we'll do this as many times as we had to in order for Jenkins to learn his lesson."

"And he hasn't learned," said Sandy. "So we bring on the hurt!"

Kaede nodded.

"You're right," she said. "Alright, guys. Let's go!"

With that, Kaede led her group to the park, where she found many of the brawlers who had helped her all the times that Jenkins had challenged her. Kaede smiled at all of these people who she adored, and in turn, adored her and her friends.

"Hey, everybody!" she exclaimed.

The brawlers cheered for the red-eyed girl, who called for them to settle down.

"Thank you all for your support!" she yelled. "We all know why we're here. We're all through with Terry Jenkins' crap."

The group yelled out in agreement.

"Our teachers, given their way, would have us talk it out with Jenkins," said Kaede, receiving a small amount of boos, which weren't directed at her. "In retrospect, not an unsound solution, except that we all know Jenkins is beyond reason!"

The group once again yelled out in agreement.

"And so, as we have done and will continue to do, today, we will fight Jenkins until his last remaining cohort, or until he runs away like the little girl I used to be; whichever comes first," said Kaede.

The group of students laughed.

"So, I need you all to tell me: are you with me?" she asked.

"We're with you!" yelled the group.

"A little louder," said Kaede.

"WE'RE WITH YOU!" yelled the group.

"Good!" exclaimed Kaede. "That's what I like to hear!"

"You know what I like to hear?" asked a voice. "The sound of you pleading for my mercy!"

Kaede turned just in time to see that the voice had in fact come from Terry Jenkins' mouth.

(A/N: Terry Jenkins – Kyle Hebert)

Kaede smiled threateningly at Jenkins.

"Sup, Terry?" she asked. "Honestly, I half-expected you not to show up."

"We were just talking about you and your friends, Martino," said Jenkins.

"Well, that's a relief, Terry," said Alan. "Usually, you're screaming about us."

"Shut the fuck up, Fixer!" exclaimed Jenkins. "This conversation is between me and Bubble Yum over there."

"Interesting choice of words for someone who brought a bunch of clowns to fight WITH him," said Zeke. "How did you get them to join your side? A dick-measuring competition? Oh, wait. That would require that you have a dick."

They say that words can never hurt you, but that comment landed on Jenkins' last nerve.

"Pummel them!" he exclaimed.

With that, the two groups rushed each other. Alan, Laura, and Sandy stood back, as Kaede led Zeke, Vito and all of their comrades into a fight with Jenkins and his forces. Kaede grabbed a couple of the enemy brawlers and slammed their heads together, knocking them senseless. She was rushed by one brawler, but sidestepped him before his punch could hit. She then grabbed his collar and swung him around into another fighter. Another one tried to hit her, but she grabbed his neck and hit him several times in the gut before throwing him backwards.

"You're doing good, Kaede!" said Zeke. "Not bad for a girl!"

"I agree," said Kaede. "You're doing unbelievably well!"

Zeke chuckled.

"But don't forget, we have to outlast them," he said.

Kaede nodded just as another brawler grabbed her around the neck. She reached behind her and locked her arm around his neck, bent forward, and slung him over her shoulders, knocking him on the ground, after which, she stepped on his mouth.

"Kiss it," she said.

The guy feebly attempted to kiss Kaede's shoe.

"Good enough," she said, before stepping off his mouth and going after more of Jenkins forces.

"It seems that Terry Jenkins makes play he's Leeroy Jenkins," said Alan, as he and the other girls observed the fight.

Things continued on as they were, until Kaede spotted Jenkins, backing up slowly. She ran toward him, and Jenkins could tell that she meant to teach him a very painful lesson.

"Everyone, retreat!" called Jenkins, at the last second. "Retreat! Run away!"

Jenkins ran the opposite direction, and what remained of his conscious supporters followed suit. Kaede briefly went after them, but was stopped by a cane that was stuck out in front of her.

"He's not worth it, Kaede," said Alan.

"Yes he is," said Kaede, frustratedly.

Alan sighed.

"Yes, he is," he said. "But going after him right now won't do anything for us. You are not Jenkins. You don't have to become him to end his BS."

"I know," said Kaede.

With that, the group went about the KO'd bodies, picking up their own wounded, and gathering up all of Jenkins' supporters.

"What do you figure we should do with them?" asked one of the men who fought with Kaede.

"Tie them up," said Kaede. "Leave a couple of bottles of aspirin next to them so they have something to fight off their headaches when they wake up."

The group did as they were told, tying the unconscious boys to a tree.

"That was the shortest fight yet," said Zeke. "I can't wait to see how quickly Jenkins gives up next time."

They heard a throat clear.

"So," said Laura. "What do we do now?"

"A little patience, Laura," said Kaede.

"There will be other fights," said Alan. "Right now, we'll just hold this one over his head until the next one."

There was silence for a moment.

"Well," said Sandy. "Who's hungry?"

With that, everyone followed Sandy to a nearby café where they celebrated their quasi-victory over Terry Jenkins.

After they finished eating, they parted ways to go back home. Kaede went back to the school and picked up her bike, before riding back home and being greeted by Gendo at the door. She bent down and petted the dog on the head before raising her head to be greeted by Joe, looking at her sternly with his arms crossed.

"Another fight, Kaede?" he asked.

"How did you-" began Kaede.

"I know things," said Joe, putting Kaede into silence.

Kaede looked at the ground in front of her.

"Now, Kaede," said Joe. "You know that violence is not always the right answer to dealing with a problem. It should only be used in a situation where you have no other choice."

"I know," said Kaede, feeling slightly ashamed.

Joe came closer, and lifted her chin so that she looked at him. He was smiling.

"But you didn't really have any choice…" he said. "Did you?"

Kaede smiled back.

"No," she said.

Joe hugged her.

"Welcome back home," he said. "Can I assume that your activities this afternoon won't interfere with our plans tonight?"

"You can count on me, Dad," said Kaede. "I just have a little bit of homework tonight and I'll be ready!"

"Alright," said Joe. "Well, head on upstairs, then!"

Kaede bounded up the stairs two at a time, followed closely by Gendo. She and Gendo entered her room, after which Kaede closed the door and got a start on her homework.

To Be Continued.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, guys. A lot of hectic stuff this year, but I really don't want to talk about that. I hope you all like the update. I promise you, more to come as soon as possible. I am planning on finishing my first book by the end of my Winter Break, which will happen in a little more than a couple of weeks. Wish me luck in my endeavors, and please let me know what you think of this chapter. See ya!


	5. Reunion

"Assassin's Creed: Elf Song"

By cdc100

Summary: As a child, Kaede is adopted, and now has a loving family. However, when her new father is kidnapped, she must learn the ways of the Assassins in order to save him.

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fanfiction. Elfen Lied is the property of AEsir Holdings, Madman Entertainment, Studio Arms, Anime Network and Lynn Okamoto. And Assassin's Creed is the property of Ubisoft, Patrice Desilets, Jade Raymond and Corey May. Please support the official releases.

Chapter Five

"Reunion"

Unbeknownst to Kaede, Joe came back from an assassination shortly before she finished her homework. Once inside his office, which he always kept locked whenever he was working or on a mission, Joe flipped a switch that opened a secret compartment in the wall, where he hung up his Assassin robes. He then unlocked the door and came out of his office just in time for Kaede and Gendo to come out of her room.

"Homework done, sweetie?" asked Joe.

"Yep!" chirped Kaede. "I'm ready for the Ducks!"

Gendo barked in agreement.

"Alright, then," said Joe. "I've got our tickets ready. Go get your coat."

Kaede ran with Gendo to the closet and pulled out her coat. Joe followed them and pulled out one of his signature suit jackets. When everyone had on some warm clothes, Joe led Kaede and Gendo to his car. They then drove out of the driveway of their house and into the city. It wasn't long before the trio was in range of a hockey rink. Kaede was giddy with excitement. She, Gendo and her father were on the way to see the Anaheim Ducks practicing for the next Hockey Season.

Kaede wasn't a big fan of sports growing up, but one sport that she always watched whenever she could was Hockey. She had watched the Mighty Ducks movies and some of the cartoon when she was younger, and thus the Anaheim Ducks became her favorite team. So, when it was announced that the Ducks would be playing a practice game nearby, Joe couldn't resist the opportunity to spoil his daughter with an up-close Anaheim Ducks experience.

Kaede was excited to hear what Joe had planned for her. When he told her about it and showed her the tickets, she noticed a third ticket. Joe explained that he paid for a ticket for Gendo. At first, Kaede was worried about what the people at the stadium might say, but then Joe told her that he had paid one of the people extra to let Kaede's first friend in with them.

When they arrived, Joe showed the ushers the tickets. When they saw Gendo, they at first were hesitant to let the dog in, but when their supervisor came by and told them it had been approved, they merely let him in. Joe and Kaede got their hands stamped, and the ticket taker nearly put away the stamp and ink when he noticed a big furry paw on his table. He looked over at Gendo who barked once. The ticket taker took his stamp back out hesitantly, to which Gendo seemed to nod, making the ticket taker wonder if he was going insane. The ticket taker pressed down hard into the ink, wetting the stamp good, and placed the stamp on Gendo's paw, after which Gendo promptly got back down onto the ground. The whole situation made Joe and Kaede laugh all the way to their seats. Along with Kaede, Gendo had grown up. He had matured and become a very smart dog.

"Kaede," said Joe, "I'm going to get us some treats. Would you two mind grabbing our seats?"

"Sure, Dad," said Kaede.

She turned to continue walking but then turned back in Joe's direction as he walked away.

"Wait, Dad!" she exclaimed.

"What's up?" asked Joe, turning back.

"No chocolate," said Kaede.

Joe held up his hands.

"Duh," he said, continuing toward the concession stands.

Kaede and Gendo took their seats, Gendo sitting right on the chair next to Kaede. Kaede sat in anticipation of her favorite team.

"This is going to be awesome, Gendo," she said. "You have no idea."

Gendo merely licked his mistress's ear in response.

Just as the team was about to come out, Joe returned to Kaede and Gendo, snacks in hand.

"I got us a little bit of everything," he said.

He sat down and placed a bucket of popcorn in Kaede's hands.

"That's for Gendo," he said, rummaging through the other snacks.

Kaede held the bucket so that Gendo could reach it if he wanted it. Once Joe had handed Kaede her other snacks, he dug into his own bag of popcorn.

"Alright," said Joe. "Let's have some fun."

Kaede smiled and Gendo barked in agreement.

All through the training session, the trio cheered for the ducks. To Kaede, what was great about this was that she could cheer no matter whose goal the puck went into.

However, though Kaede didn't notice it, Joe was only half-watching the game. Every once in a while, he would scan the crowd. He was looking for someone he was told would be at the game. Shortly after his assassination mission that day, he had been informed that one of the members of the crowd had been tasked by the Templars with identifying Assassins in the area. Obviously, the Assassins couldn't have the Templars learning of any of their agents working in the area. And thus, this man had to die.

Joe's superiors named him as Timothy Franks. He had apparently been a profiler, working for the LAPD before coming into the Templars' fold. He was a tall, fair-skinned man with an average physique.

Joe finally found Franks in his third attempt to scan the crowd, sitting on the exact opposite side of the rink from him and Kaede, all by himself. Joe turned toward Kaede.

"Kaede," he said, getting her attention.

"What's up?" asked Kaede, smiling.

"Would you like to drive us home tonight?" he asked, smiling back.

"Yeah," said Kaede. "I could use some practice."

"Good," said Joe. "Thanks a lot."

Kaede returned to watching the game, but Joe began to observe Franks more intently than the game. He decided that as soon as the game started to wind down, he would do Franks in as quietly as he could. With everyone getting ready to leave, he would have the perfect opportunity to do the deed and an ample excuse to keep it quiet.

As the game counted down its final minute, Joe got up from his seat.

"Well," he said, "I think we know how this one will turn out. Let's get going, sweetie."

"Alright, Dad," said Kaede, getting up and following him.

Gendo jumped out of his seat and followed them. Joe suddenly groaned.

"What is it, Dad?" asked Kaede.

"Oh, nothing," said Joe. "I just have to go to the freaking bathroom now. Awesome timing."

He reached into his pocket and took out his keys.

"Sweetie, would you mind bringing the car around front?" he asked, handing the keys to her.

"Uh… sure," said Kaede. "I'll give you a call when we're at the front."

"Thanks," said Joe.

He went toward the direction of the bathrooms, and when he was sure that Kaede and Gendo had left, he went in the direction of the other side of the bleachers.

Joe took a seat near Franks in the bleachers as the last thirty seconds of the game wound down. Joe said a silent prayer, and brought out his hidden blade. When the clock reached zero, the buzzer sounded long and loud, and Joe took that opportunity to stab Franks in the back with the hidden blade. Franks yelled out, but he was not heard over the buzzer combined with the cheering audience. As Franks sat in his seat, dead, Joe retracted his hidden blade and followed the crowd out of the rink.

Joe was careful not to draw any attention to himself as he walked through the halls and out toward the entrance. He felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket, pulled it out and answered it.

"Hello, Kaede," he said.

"Hey, Dad," came Kaede's voice from the receiver. "Me and Gendo are up front. Where are you?"

"Oh," said Joe. "As luck would have it, the game got over just as I finished up. I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay," said Kaede. "Be careful going through that crowd."

"I will," said Joe, hanging up the phone.

He only had to weave through the crowd for a minute or so more before finally reaching the car, which was parked just at the front. Joe got in and fastened his seatbelt.

"Alright," he said. "Let's go home."

On the way home, Joe texted the other Assassins to let them know that Franks was dead. He made sure not to attract Kaede's attention too much. As he texted them, he spoke to her.

"So, Kaede," he said, "do you feel ready for Finals?"

"It won't be a problem, Dad," she said. "I'll make sure to get high scores."

Joe chuckled.

"Kaede, just out of curiosity, do you get high scores because you want to?" he asked.

Kaede scrunched her face as she drove.

"Why would you ask me that?" she asked.

"Well, sometimes I wonder if you think I wouldn't bring you back to Japan for vacations unless you do really well in school," said Joe. "Which is fine, just not entirely correct."

Kaede shrugged.

"Well, in all honesty, I do think that sometimes," said Kaede. "I always try to do my best at school, not only because I want to see my friends again, but because I want to make you proud. You were one of the first people to treat me like a human being, so I thought it was the least I could do."

Joe chuckled.

"I'm glad that my approval matters that much to you," he said. "But I want you to understand, Kaede, that if you want to do something like go to Japan for vacations, you shouldn't feel so much like you have to earn it. I'm happy to do it for you if you just ask."

"Wouldn't that be spoiling me, Dad?" asked Kaede.

"From a certain point of view," said Joe. "Let me try and clarify. When I was your age, I was an A-B student at best. I didn't get straight A's, like you. My parents always told me to do my very best in school, and they would always be proud of me. My point is, you make me proud every day, Kaede. You always do your best in school, and get far better grades than I did. That's all you need to do to make me proud, sweetie."

Kaede smiled and blushed.

"Thanks, Dad," she said.

Joe continued texting the Brotherhood, as Kaede asked him a question.

"So, you'll be proud of me even if I get a C on one of my finals?" she asked.

"Within reason," said Joe, smiling. "If you have a class you just don't do well in, no matter how hard you try, I'll be proud of you even if you get an F."

Kaede giggled.

"I think we should start packing soon, Kaede," said Joe. "We've got a lot of it to do."

Kaede suddenly looked very confused.

"We do?" she asked. "We'll only be there for a couple of weeks, right?"

"Well, actually no," said Joe. "There's going to be a slight change of plans this time, honey."

"What do you mean?" asked Kaede.

"You know that college that Kohta's going to?" asked Joe.

"What about it?" asked Kaede.

"I got called up a while ago by their faculty and they asked me if I could teach a class there," said Joe, pausing momentarily before continuing. "I said yes."

"What are you saying?" asked Kaede, going wide-eyed.

"Why don't you pull over for a minute and I'll tell you?" asked Joe.

Kaede parked in the nearest parallel parking zone, having long since left the interstate, and faced Joe, waiting for his explanation.

Joe turned to face his adoptive daughter fully.

"I'm saying that you, me and Gendo are going to spend your whole summer vacation over in Kamakura," said Joe. "How do you like them apples?"

Kaede twitched in excitement, then suddenly let out a full-on squeal as she leapt at Joe and hugged him.

"Thank you, Dad!" she exclaimed.

"You're welcome, Kaede," said Joe. "I do have a couple of conditions, though."

"Name them," said Kaede.

"First and foremost, I will want you to enroll in the course," said Joe. "That will give you one semester class worth of college credit. It should be a relatively easy course, and I think you'll have fun with it."

Kaede nodded.

"What's the other condition?" she asked.

"I want you to have as much fun as possible while we're there," said Joe. "That means I want you to enjoy whatever that town has to offer, to the fullest."

Kaede nodded again.

"You've got yourself a deal," she said.

With that, Kaede started the car back up again.

Joe smirked at his daughter's reaction.

He didn't like deceiving her, but every time he was successful at it, he was thankful, as it meant that he would be keeping her safe. Unbeknownst to Kaede, Joe actually had an agenda whenever he brought her back to Japan. Allowing Kaede to spend time with the friends she'd made in Japan kept her happy and willing to stay with him, and bringing her back to Japan periodically allowed him to pull a very complicated trick on the Templars. In the simplest terms, allowing Kaede back to Japan every once in a while kept the Templars and whoever they were backing in the country thinking that she was still living in Japan.

What amazed Joe was that he'd managed to keep them looking for Kaede in Japan and not in the United States for eight years now. He occasionally wondered if the Templars were starting to catch on to his tricks, but he kept telling himself that if they had, they would have broken down his door and taken Kaede a long time ago.

This time, however, Joe had a mission from his superiors. They had told him that Templar activity had increased in Japan and was now even higher than it was when he first met Kaede. His mission was to meet with the Japanese Assassins, assess the threat, and quell it if he could.

Additionally, Joe remembered what he told the Japanese Assassins at the time he had taken Kaede under his wing: that she might one day become a valued member of the Brotherhood. Joe had turned it over in his head multiple times before this, and thought that perhaps Kaede was old enough that, during this trip to Japan, he might approach them about bringing her into the fold. After all, the Brotherhood had been the only life Altaïr had ever known, and Ezio wasn't any older than Kaede was now when he joined. Ratonhnhaké:ton was even younger when he began training with Achilles Davenport.

Joe secretly resolved to give Kaede the choice of becoming an Assassin whenever he could explain it all to her. For now, though, he would allow Kaede to have as much fun as possible. He would not force the decision on Kaede. He would not do as William Miles did and keep his daughter away from the outside world against her will. He respected William well enough, but in Joe's eyes, William was asserting control over his own son. And control of an individual's free will was exactly what the Assassins fought to prevent. Joe was certain that if he had done that to Kaede, she would have run away from home even sooner than Desmond had.

All of that certainly wasn't to say that Joe thought William to be a bad parent. He knew that he loved his son and merely kept Desmond sheltered in order to protect him. Kind of the definition of "sheltered," right? The two of them simply disagreed on the matter of raising children and being a part of the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood had been the only life Desmond knew, but he didn't choose it like Altaïr did. Joe's parents had presented him with a choice when he first learned of his lineage, telling him that they would not hold it against him if he decided not to become an Assassin, but he decided to join anyway, knowing that the Assassins would need all the help they could get. Joe therefore intended to present Kaede with the same choice, partly due to his parents, and partly because he had learned that Ezio had similar attitudes as him towards being an Assassin. Ezio once stated that nobody should fight in the Assassin's war with the Templars if they don't do so by choice.

Despite all of that, while Joe thought that Kaede could be a valuable asset to his allies, he wasn't absolutely sure that that was what he wanted for her. She had started out as a mere mission objective for him, but after he had legally adopted her as his daughter, he began to care for her as though she were his real daughter. Though, when he thought about it, it might have even been before that, when he saw how desperately she wanted to be loved. Regardless, Joe would make sure to ensure Kaede's happiness, and keep in mind what was best for her.

That was Joe's last thought as Kaede turned into their driveway and turned off the car. She let Gendo out and the trio went inside, at which point Kaede turned toward Joe and smiled.

"Let's watch a movie before we go to bed, Dad," she said.

"Why, Kaede?" asked Joe. "It's almost nine."

"I know," said Kaede. "But so far, my day's only consisted of defeating Terry Jenkins again, homework and my favorite team's practice game. Not that I'm complaining about the last part. It just doesn't feel like bedtime yet, though, you know?"

"You know, most fathers would ground their daughters for the first part of your after school activities," said Joe, smirking.

Kaede pouted slightly.

"Go put on your pajamas," said Joe. "I'll have some popcorn ready when you come out, and you can pick out the movie while I go change."

Kaede smiled and went toward her bedroom to change. While she was gone, Joe busied himself making some popcorn. As the popcorn started cooking, Joe bounded up the stairs and went into his office, where he took his newly-blood-soaked hidden blade and set it in the same closet as his outfit. He left his office and came back downstairs in time for popcorn maker to stop and Kaede to come back out of her bedroom, wearing her usual yellow button-up pajamas and sleeping cap.

"Where's Gendo?" asked Joe.

"He's up in my room," said Kaede. "He apparently decided to opt out of movie night with us. After we got inside, he went straight to his bed."

"Alright," said Joe, "go pick out the movie. I'm going to change out of this suit."

"You know, Dad," said Kaede, as Joe went up the stairs, "you should really try wearing some casual clothes every once in a while."

"I do," said Joe. "They're called pajamas. I'll be right back down."

Joe went back up to his room and changed into his pajamas, then came back down to find his daughter sitting on the couch, watching through the previews that came before the main menu of _The Illusionist_.

"Ah…very good choice, my young grasshopper," said Joe in his best impersonation of a kung fu master.

"Shut up," giggled Kaede.

They finally stopped laughing and watched as the movie progressed. While Joe was in fact one of the Brotherhood's most dangerous Assassins, he also took pride in his work as a film and literature teacher. As a film buff, one of his favorites was _The Illusionist_, which was one of the first movies he showed Kaede when she was old enough. The two of them were always enthralled with the story's twists and turns, and both felt it had one of the most satisfying endings in film history.

After the movie was over, the both of them yawned. Joe picked Kaede up in his arms bridal style and carried her upstairs.

"Dad," she said, around a yawn, "I'm not a little kid anymore. You don't have to carry me to bed anymore."

"I know," said Joe. "I'd just like to enjoy the privilege while I've still got it."

He gently nudged Kaede's door open, and just as she said, Gendo was asleep in his dog bed at the foot of her bed. Joe pulled the covers back on Kaede's bed and laid her down before pulling them back over her.

"Now, get some sleep," said Joe. "We've got a long couple of weeks ahead of us."

"I'll do my best on my finals, Dad," said Kaede.

"I know you will, sweetie," said Joe.

Joe leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.

"Good night," he said.

"Good night, Dad," said Kaede, closing her eyes.

Joe closed the door behind him and went to his office once again. Once he made sure the door was locked, he opened his computer and opened an email he received from the Assassins earlier that day. The email detailed the targets he would have to go after when he made it to Japan. He studied each of the dossiers carefully and reflected on what the Brotherhood had managed to learn lately. These targets he had been assigned all had something to do with Kaede, in that they were employed by a mysterious institute, which the Brotherhood automatically assumed was the same institute that had been after Kaede years earlier.

Little by little, they were learning more about this institute; for example, that they were in fact conducting experiments on "people with horns," like Kaede. This institute called Kaede's kind the "diclonius," people born with horns, unusual features and even more unusual powers. The Brotherhood had yet to learn much else, only that there were easily hundreds of "diclonii" at the institute.

Shortly after learning of the institute's focus, the Brotherhood started doing its own research. First, they piggybacked off the Templars' information in order to learn what they could about Kaede and her kind, and what the Templars could possibly want with them. This was the hard part, as just like with performing an assassination, they had to approach their target carefully, without drawing suspicion, and they could not do that by outright hacking their mainframe at Abstergo. Thus, that part of the process was taking some time. The second and easier way they were learning about Kaede was to order Joe to observe Kaede while she lived with him. For this purpose, Joe encouraged Kaede to be open with her powers and whatever else she could around him.

Joe didn't do that just for the Assassins' benefit, however. He felt that the best thing for Kaede was to be around someone she could be open with; someone from whom she didn't have to hide what she was…whatever that may be. That's why he encouraged her to use her powers however she wanted (within reason) around their home, and why he so often allowed her to visit her friends in Japan, who had long since accepted her for who or what she was. Joe chuckled at the memory of little Kanae worshipping his daughter like some sort of goddess, and naming her as her unofficial big sister.

Joe returned to his original demeanor, however, and looked at the review of what the Brotherhood had learned up to this point. They had learned that the institute had come to know the "arms" that Kaede and her kind could use as "vectors." They had learned that the vectors have a certain range depending on the diclonius who wielded them. The arms possessed amazing strength, and had an incredible cutting power. The diclonii vectors could apparently vibrate at such high frequencies that they were capable of cutting even the strongest substances, such as stone, clean in half.

Joe remembered walking in on Kaede one day and finding that she had accidentally cleaved her favorite Teddy bear in half with her vectors. She could not stop apologizing as he held her and tried to comfort her by telling her it was an accident and that he would fix her Teddy bear. He remembered thinking it was no wonder that Kaede came into his office one day and was worried that she would become a murderer. He remembered that time as though it had just happened.

Kaede had come into his office in the middle of the night. She looked at the floor as though she would be severely punished for looking anywhere else. Joe had turned to her and spoke in as assuring a voice as he could.

"Hi, sweetheart," he said. "What are you doing up so late?"

Kaede kept her gaze to the floor.

"I…I couldn't sleep," she said.

Joe put away his laptop, and crouched down to her level.

"What's the matter?" he asked, taking hold of her shoulders.

Joe could see Kaede hesitating before she answered.

"I can't stop thinking about that man on the train," she said. "I…I brutalized him."

"You were angry, Kaede," said Joe. "I'm sure nobody blames you for what you did. In fact, I'm quite sure the Hakuros were happy you were there, when it all comes down to it.

Kaede slowly shook her head.

"But what would have happened if I had gotten just a little angrier?" she asked. "What if instead of throwing him outside, I had crushed his spine? Smashed his head? Ground him against the train tracks?"

Joe was worried for the first time since the night on the train.

"Kaede, calm down," he said.

"Dad, I can't!" she almost yelled. She leveled her voice before continuing, "You don't understand. I don't know what I would have done if I had killed him. I don't want to become a murderer."

Joe made Kaede look at him.

"Kaede…" he began, "where is all of this coming from?"

Kaede gulped.

"Daddy…sometimes…I hear this voice," she said.

Joe pulled her in closer.

"A voice?" he asked.

"Yes," answered Kaede. "It tells me…it says to me that…you, Kohta and everyone will hurt me one day… and that I should hurt you first. It tells me that everyone would be better off dead."

Joe was slightly frightened by what Kaede told him, but decided to bear with it.

"When did this start happening?"

"It first happened…after you saved Gendo," said Kaede. "It told me that I should kill every last human in the world."

Kaede started to sniffle. Joe could see tears beginning to leak from her eyes.

"But…I don't want to," she said. "I don't want to hurt anyone, Daddy."

Joe hugged Kaede close as she started to cry without holding back.

"I don't want to kill anyone, Daddy!" she sobbed. "I don't want to become a murderer!"

Joe shushed her as he stroked her back.

"It's okay, Kaede," he said. "It's okay."

After Kaede had settled down, Joe stood up with her still in his arms. He had an idea.

"Let's go, Kaede," he said, starting to walk out of his office.

"Where are we going?" asked Kaede.

"To the study," said Joseph. "I want to show you something."

Kaede quietly allowed her new "father" to take her down the hallway to his study. She was afraid that he might be about to punish her, which would seem out of character for him, but then again, betrayal seemed out of character for that girl in the orphanage, too. As she remembered this, they arrived at the study and Joseph turned the light on. Kaede saw several large shelves of books.

"Here you go," said Joe, sitting her on the couch by the door. He then went over to the bookshelves and started to browse through them.

"It ought to be… here," said Joseph, picking a book off the shelves.

"What is that?" asked Kaede, as Joe walked over to her.

Joe sat down and showed her the front cover.

"It's a book series called 'I, Robot,' by a Russian author named Isaac Asimov."

"A science fiction book?" asked Kaede.

"Yes, Kaede, but let me explain. In this book, Asimov explains Three Laws of Robotics, which are applied to the robots that are placed in the stories."

"What were the laws?" asked Kaede, her interest peaked.

Joe opened the book to the place where the Three Laws are first listed.

"The First Law is, and I quote, 'A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.' The Second Law states that, 'A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.' And the Third Law says that 'A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.'"

"What does this have to do with me?" asked Kaede.

"I'm getting to that," said Joe. "In one of the stories, there is one robot that goes rogue. It's later discovered that this particular robot had the three laws programmed into his being, but he could choose not to obey them."

Joe placed the book on the coffee table in front of them and put his arm around Kaede.

"What I'm saying, Kaede, is that, in this situation, you're the robot," he said. "And that 'voice' you're hearing is the laws of robotics. You do not have to listen to that voice. You don't even have to acknowledge its existence if you don't want to."

Kaede looked up at Joe.

"So, you're saying…I don't have to hurt anyone?" she asked.

"I'm saying that that voice will only have power over you if you want it to," said Joe. "Whether you do what the voice says is your choice. You can listen to it, or you can not listen to it. It's all up to you, Kaede. You are the master of your own actions."

Somehow, Joe's explanation of Asimov's work made her feel better. He could see it. She smiled. It was slight, but it was a smile nonetheless.

"Thanks, Daddy," she said.

"So, what are you going to do now?" asked Joe, smiling.

"The next time I hear that voice…" said Kaede, "I'm going to tell it to go jump into the Pacific."

"That a girl," said Joe, picking her back up again. "Now you need to go back to bed. In the morning, I'll have a terrific breakfast for you."

After that, he tucked Kaede back into bed and went back to his office.

The incident with the Teddy bear did not sway Joe's thinking about Kaede. He had confidence that she would learn to control her powers and use them however she wanted, which she did. She spent time after the Teddy-cleaving incident around the house, experimenting with her vectors. She would use them to do menial chores around the house and grab things that were normally out of her reach. She occasionally broke things with them, but eventually learned to handle them better. If Joe remembered correctly, the last time she broke anything with them was when she was fourteen years old, after not having broken anything for over a year. He also learned from watching her that she could use her vectors up to about two meters in any direction from her body.

After learning what he did about Kaede's vectors, Joe wasted no time in telling the order what he knew. From that point on, they asked him to keep tabs on Kaede's doings, comings, goings, etc., and see if there were any ways in which she behaved differently from a human. Thus far, based on Kaede's behavior, he found nothing that makes a "diclonius" act any different from a human. While it wasn't normal, it wasn't exactly uncommon for a normal person to hear a voice telling them something, whether it was due to a dangerous delusion or the subject's own imagination. In a child, it was more likely that they might hear a voice or just imagine that they hear it. In Kaede's case, Joe felt she might have been imagining a voice telling her to hurt against her own wishes, and that that voice, along with all of Kaede's other behavioral attributes, were produced through years of social alienation by everyone she ever knew.

Because of all that, the Assassins were inclined to agree with Joe's assertion that the diclonii were not all that different from humans, in that both have the ability to kill, but are a product of their upbringing. The only difference that really seemed to matter was that a diclonius child losing its temper could have far more severe consequences than a normal child losing its temper. But Joe swore he would prove, should the need arise, that a diclonius could be taught right and wrong just as a human could. What was unfortunate was that the only proverbial "test subject" the Brotherhood had to go on was Kaede. And as the Templars had more scientific resources than the Brotherhood had, the Templars were likely to find more out about the diclonii than the Brotherhood was anytime soon.

Thinking on this, Joe saw his new mission to Japan as an opportunity. His job at present was to quell any possible Templar threat he encountered, but what if he also used it as an opportunity to learn more about diclonii? This institute the Templars had allied themselves with seemed as though they were making the children they were experimenting on into weapons. That was the only reason Joe could come up with for why they were putting mere children through such rigorous tests as the Brotherhood had learned about.

So, as Joe closed his email, he memorized his targets, and made his solemn decision to be on the lookout for diclonii sent by that institute, in addition to carrying out his own mission.

As for his actual mission, it seemed to revolve around a few targets the Brotherhood had been able to pick up from intruding into the Templars' information bank about the institute. None of them seemed high-ranked, except for one: a professor who worked at the college in which he would be teaching his film and literature classes: a scientist named Meito Kakuzawa. His mission was to assassinate the lower-ranked targets and find out what he could from Kakuzawa, but only kill Kakuzawa if he found, without a shadow of a doubt, that it was absolutely necessary.

With his new mission in mind, he went around the house and started picking up things he would need for the trip. He would pack a little bit now, and spend the rest of Kaede's finals week getting everything they would need together. Once he got everything he could think of at the moment, he went back upstairs to his room, and got into bed. He fell asleep that night praying for luck with his upcoming mission.

* * *

><p>Kaede's finals week went by fast. When it was all done, Kaede wished all her friends a tearful goodbye, and promised her that when she and her father got back from Japan, the six of them would have fun together. Joe brought Kaede back to their house, where they finished packing their belongings. The last touch of their packing to do was for Joe to secretly pack away the tools he would need for his mission, and to put Gendo into a kennel they bought for trips overseas. Kaede hated having Gendo stowed in the cargo hold, but knew it would be unreasonable to ask that he be allowed to ride with the passengers.<p>

Kaede spent the whole flight trying not to think about Gendo, down below, and focusing on the fact that she would soon get to see Kohta again. She wondered how he would look this year, and how they would spend their time together this year. She sincerely hoped she might convince Kohta, Yuka and Kanae to enroll in Joe's class. Joe soothed her exuberance by watching an in-flight movie with her, and outlining what his course at the college would entail, so that she knew what she would be getting into.

When they landed, Kaede had to restrain herself from jumping out of her seat and pushing past all the passengers. She waited as patiently as she could as she got off the plane and she and her father gathered their luggage. As soon as they got hold of Gendo's kennel, they let him out and made their way to the rental car that Joe had rented. As the three came to Japan often, Joe made a point to keep the car that he used for their trips on reserve with the rental company.

Once everything was packed, Joe drove the trio to the house they built in Japan specifically for their visits. The three entered the house and started setting everything up for their occupation. Kaede took all her luggage into her room and started putting it into her closet and drawers. She hooked up all of her electronics and then went into the main area to help her father with the rest of the unpacking. When everything was unpacked and set up, Joe turned to Kaede and Gendo.

"Well, I have to go get some groceries," he said. "What do you guys want to do?"

"I'd like to find out where Kohta and Yuka are, and meet them there," said Kaede. "Let me text them."

Kaede pulled out her cell and started to text Yuka. It wasn't long before she got a response back, saying she planned to meet Kohta at the train station. Kaede texted her back asking if Yuka and Kohta would like to go to the beach with her and Gendo. When she got Yuka's answer, she smiled.

"I'm going to meet Kohta and Yuka at the beach," said Kaede. "I'll have my cell on and I'll keep Gendo with me."

"Alright," said Joe. "You have fun, and call me when you're ready to come home. I'll come pick you up."

"Thanks, Dad," said Kaede, coming up and kissing Joe on the cheek.

She then ran upstairs and pulled out her swimsuit, a towel, and some other things she would bring with her. She took her clothes off, and put the swimsuit on underneath before coming back downstairs and putting on her shoes.

"Want me to drive you?" asked Joe, putting on his own shoes.

"No thanks, Dad," said Kaede. "I need the exercise. Plus, the beach isn't very far anyway."

"Just thought I'd offer," said Joe.

"Thanks, Dad," said Kaede. "See you later!"

With that, Kaede went out the door and walked to the beach, with Gendo keeping up with her, walking at her side. She petted Gendo on the head and smiled.

"You excited to see Kohta again?" she asked.

Gendo barked once.

"Me, too," said Kaede. "But I bet you're more excited to see Kanae, right? She used to play with you so much when we were growing up. She's in high school, now, but I'm sure she'd still give you a belly rub or two while you're here."

Gendo's tongue hung out of his mouth as he panted, seeming to smile at his mistress.

In no time at all, Kaede and Gendo had made it to the beach. For a moment, Kaede merely looked around at the scenery. She smiled as she remembered all the visits Joe had allowed her to take there, and laughed at the prospect of spending all of her summer vacation there with her friends. She intended to have as much fun with them as possible. Momentarily, she reached her hand up to where her horns were, and found that they were still obscured by the ribbon Joe bought for her years ago. She pulled the string on the ribbon, allowing it to fall into her hands, and revealing the horns she had once been thoroughly disgusted with being given. After years of being friends with Kohta and his family, she knew that it would not bother them at all.

Just as she was going to walk along the beach, she happened to look toward the main road, and saw a trio of people walk down the steps leading to the beach. Kaede knew them to be Kohta, his sister Kanae, and his cousin Yuka. Even though she came to visit them every year, she was always impressed with how much the three of them had changed. Yuka was now a little bit taller than she was, with an amazing figure. Kaede was still smaller than Kohta, but no longer wore the bow in her hair, and also had an amazing figure. Kohta was not a tall boy, but he now towered over Kaede, Yuka and Kanae, and was starting to develop a firm physique. His face was much the same as she remembered it: kind and understanding.

Upon seeing them, Kaede called out to them.

"Kohta! Kanae! Yuka!" she called. "It's good to see you!"

The three turned their attention to the voice.

"Kaede?" asked Kohta, smiling. "Hey! How are you?"

(A/N: Kohta Hakuro – Adam Conlon)

The four friends ran to each other, and stopped just a few feet from each other.

"Hi, Kaede!" exclaimed Kanae, glomping her. "It's been too long!"

(A/N: Kanae Hakuro – Monica Rial)

"It's good to see you, Kanae," said Kaede. "I'm glad you could all make it."

"We wouldn't have missed you for the world," said Kohta.

"I'm glad," said Kaede. "And how are you doing, Yuka?"

"I'm good," smiled Yuka, coming over to Kaede and giving her a hug of her own. "We're glad you were able to come back again."

(A/N: Yuka Hakuro – Nancy Novotny)

"And how are you doing, Gendo?" asked Kanae. "Look how big you got!"

Just as Kaede predicted, in mere moments, Kanae had Gendo wrestled to the sand, kicking his now massive legs in response to what Kaede guessed was a very enjoyable belly scratch.

Kaede looked at Kohta, who smiled at his sister's antics.

"Kohta must be feeling left out," said Kaede, smiling. "Here we are, hugging each other."

"Oh," said Kohta, his expression changing. "No, that's okay-"

Before he had the chance to protest further, Kaede had her arms around him, hugging him tight.

"How have you been doing, Kohta?" asked Kaede.

"N-not bad," said Kohta, nervously. "I…imagine…not as good as you've been doing in America, though."

Kaede let go of Kohta and smiled.

"Oh, yeah," she said. "Me and the others had another great year. Someday, I just have to introduce you."

"Yeah," deadpanned Kohta. "That Zeke you mentioned sounds like a thrill to be around."

"Oh, stop it," said Kaede. "Zeke's not that bad."

"If you say so," said Kanae. "Personally, I can't wait to meet Vito, Sandy and Laura."

"And Alan sounds like a nice guy," said Yuka.

"Oh, and you guys will not believe the fun we had last night," said Kaede.

"What happened?" asked Kanae.

"Joe took me to see the Ducks practice!" said Kaede. "They're going to take the cup this year."

"As God is my witness, I will find out why hockey is so appealing to you," said Yuka.

Kaede giggled and stuck her tongue out at Yuka.

"Well, enough about that," said Kaede. "Let's have some fun in the sun! You guys bring swimsuits?"

"It was kind of last minute, but we brought some with us," said Kohta, pulling out a pair of swim trunks.

"There's a hut over at the end of the beach where we can change," said Yuka.

"I'm already wearing mine," said Kaede, starting to take her clothes off.

"We'll be back, Kaede," said Kanae. "Don't start without us!"

When Kaede got finished undressing, she and Gendo had a race into the water, where the two of them jumped in and started swimming around. They swam toward the hut at the end of the beach and got out of the water, just in time for the three Hakuros to emerge. Kanae opted for a light pink one piece swimsuit, Kohta changed into the dark blue and green swim trunks he had, and Yuka wore a light green two-piece set.

"Oh, Kaede!" exclaimed Kanae. "I'm disappointed in you. You started without us!"

"I'm disappointed in all three of you," said Kaede, coming out of the water fully. "I'm the one with the boldest swimsuit."

She was right. The three Hakuros were shocked to see that for her swimsuit, Kaede had chosen a white string-tie bikini. Kohta had to turn away, as he had a blush that covered most of his face.

"Come on! Come in!" exclaimed Kaede, jumping back into the water.

The three joined Kaede in the water immediately (which helped Kohta immensely), and the four friends and the dog spent the next hour or so swimming around and splashing each other mercilessly.

After a while, they all got tired, and went up onto the beach to dry off with whatever sun was left. When everyone was all dried off and dressed, they went ahead and prepared to leave.

"So, you guys are living in town so you can go to classes, right?" asked Kaede.

"Yeah," said Kohta. "Yuka's mom is letting us use a house that's actually not that far from here. Me and Yuka are taking a summer course or two, and Kanae…well…"

"I'm taking some advanced courses!" exclaimed Kohta's sister.

"Really?" asked Kaede. "Good for you!"

"Anyway, if you'd like to come see the house…" began Kohta.

"Oh, sure," said Kaede. "Dad said he'd pick me up whenever, so I've got time."

"Alright," said Kohta. "We'll show you the way, so you can come visit whenever you want."

"Yeah," said Kaede.

Without warning, Kaede took off running ahead of them, and ran up the wall that came down to the beach from the main road. When she reached the road, she turned back and yelled.

"Come on!" exclaimed Kaede. "I can't wait to see it!"

"Kaede," said Kohta, "how did you do that?"

"What?" asked Kaede.

"You got up there so fast," said Yuka. "Did you need to use those arms of yours for that?"

Kaede chuckled.

"Oh, that," she said. "No, I didn't need them. I started getting into parkour some time ago."

"Parkour?" asked Kohta.

"Or freerunning, if you prefer," said Kaede. "Basically, you use your body's momentum to get you over obstacles in your path. Try it!"

"What?" asked Kohta. "Right now?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Kaede. "Come on, Kohta. You can do it!"

"What? How?" asked Kohta, genuinely confused.

"Just run toward the wall, and when you get to it, don't stop," said Kaede.

Kohta looked at the wall Kaede was on top of.

"Okay," he said, taking a breath.

He exhaled, and started to run toward the wall. When he got to the wall, he closed his eyes, and just as the thought he was about to crash into it, his feet carried him up the wall. He opened his eyes, and as he was about to fall off the wall, Kaede caught his hand.

"I knew you could do it!" she said, pulling him up. "You just need some practice. Your turn, Yuka!"

Yuka looked at them from the sand below.

"I'll take the stairs," she said. "Sorry, Kaede."

"That's okay," said Kaede. "You can try it some other time. What about you, Kanae?"

"Sorry, Kaede," said Kanae. "I'll try later. Right now, I'm just too tired."

"Fair enough," said Kaede. "Now, let's go see your house."

Kohta led the way to their house, with Kaede and Yuka standing on either side of them, and Kanae and Gendo walking next to Kaede. Every once in a while, Gendo would shake, trying to get what little water remained out of his fur.

"See?" asked Kaede. "This is what happens when you don't let me and dad give you a trim."

Gendo growled slightly under his breath, shaking once again.

After the group crossed some streets, they went up some stairs, and finally made it to what Kaede learned used to be a traditional Japanese restaurant. Kaede scoffed when she learned the name of the place.

"Kaede House?" asked Kaede. "Seriously?"

"Hey," said Kohta. "We didn't name it."

The group took their shoes off at the door and came inside. Kaede was impressed with all the place had to offer. There was an indoor hot spring for bathing, generously-sized rooms, and a nice view of the front yard from the dining area. Kaede learned that Kohta, Yuka and Kanae each had their own rooms.

"How about…we set up a guest room for Kaede if she wants to visit?" asked Yuka.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," said Kaede.

"Oh, come on," said Kanae. "We would love to have you over a few times. You can stay in my room with me if you want."

Kaede smiled.

"Okay," she said. "As long as I'm not imposing."

"Never," said Kanae.

After that was settled, they all retired to the dining room for some rice balls. While they were eating, Kaede spotted a familiar wooden box on a shelf.

"Oh," she said. "You still have that?"

"Have what?" asked Kohta.

"That old music box," said Kaede, pointing to the object in question.

"Oh yeah, that," said Kohta. "I always loved that song. It was nice."

"Does it still work?" asked Kaede, getting up.

She didn't bother to wait for an answer before opening the box and hearing the familiar tune.

"Hearing this was always great," she said.

"I still think it's kind of sad," said Kanae.

"Me, too," said Yuka. "Though it really is a nice sound."

Kaede closed the box and went back to the table.

"I really should call my dad and let him know I'm ready to go home," she said. "Sorry to cut the visit short."

"It's alright," said Kohta. "We can visit again tomorrow, right?"

"Probably," said Kaede, reaching into her pockets. "Oh, that's right! I have something to talk to you guys about-"

She cut herself off as she realized that she was missing her phone.

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "I forgot my phone!"

"That's not good," said Kohta.

"Where did you last have it?" asked Yuka.

"The beach!" exclaimed Kaede. "It must have fallen out of my pocket."

"You can use our phone here," said Yuka. "You could probably grab it in the morning."

"Grab it from what?" asked Kanae. "It's going to rain pretty soon. It'll be ruined."

Kaede sighed.

"I guess I'll just have to go back and grab it," she said.

"Wait!" said Kohta. "It's dark out! You shouldn't go look for it on your own."

"I'll be okay, Kohta," said Kaede. "The beach isn't that far, anyway."

"Still, though," said Kohta.

"Don't worry," said Kaede. "I'll call Dad as soon as I find it, and I'll let you guys know when Dad comes and gets me."

"O…kay," said Kohta.

With that, Kaede put her shoes on, and went out toward the beach.

"I'll see you guys later!" she exclaimed.

She ran to the beach and retraced her steps. Soon, she found the place where her clothes had been. Sure enough, the phone was half-buried in the sand. She picked it up and dialed Joe. Joe picked up after two rings.

"Hello, Kaede," he said.

"Hey, Dad," said Kaede. "I'm at the beach. Do you think you could come get me?"

"The beach?" asked Joe. "What are you doing there?"

"Well, long story short, I lost my phone," said Kaede. "I had to run back to the beach and grab it. I realize it's not an ideal time, but I didn't want you to have to buy me a new one."

"Just as long as you're safe, Kaede," said Joe. "At least tell me someone's with you."

Kaede hesitated, not saying a word.

"Oh, for- seriously?" asked Joe.

"I'm sorry, Dad!" exclaimed Kaede. "I didn't want to impose on them."

"I thought we covered the whole 'imposing' thing," said a voice behind Kaede.

Kaede turned around and found Kohta, standing behind her and holding an umbrella over her head.

"I stand corrected, Dad," said Kaede. "Kohta's out here with me."

"Good enough," said Joe. "Look, just go back to…

"Kaede House," said Kaede.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment.

"Seriously?" asked Joe, finally.

"I couldn't believe it, either," said Kaede.

"Well, just go back there, and I'll come pick you up," said Joe.

"Okay, Dad," said Kaede. "I love you."

"Love you too, sweetheart," said Joe, before hanging up.

Kaede hung her phone up and turned back to Kohta.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked.

"You're welcome," said Kohta, smiling.

Kaede rolled her eyes.

"Thank you for coming out with me," she said. "But you really didn't have to. You know I can take care of myself."

"Kaede, I have no doubt about your abilities," said Kohta. "But what if someone came and hurt you and they just got lucky? It's dark out and raining. I couldn't forgive myself if something were to happen to you."

Kaede smiled up at Kohta.

"Well, that's very sweet of you," she said.

Kohta blushed again, then cleared his throat.

"So…what should we do now?" he asked.

"Dad wants me to head back with you," said Kaede. "He says he'll pick me up there."

"Alright," said Kohta. "We'd better not keep him waiting, then. Let's g-"

Kohta was interrupted with a violent strike to the back of his head. In a matter of moments, he was on the ground, clutching his head in pain.

"Kohta!" exclaimed Kaede, crouching over him.

Kaede looked at Kohta, shocked, then looked behind him and saw a pair of tall, black-clad men carrying heavy firearms. One of them was on the follow-through of striking Kohta on the back of the head with his gun.

"Look at that," said one, in a gruff voice. "Horns. Just like the briefing said."

Kaede looked at the two armed men defiantly.

"What about them?" she demanded.

The two gunmen seemed to ignore her.

"What do we do about him?" asked the second gunman, pointing to Kohta.

The one who spoke before answered.

"They gave us the okay to kill any witnesses," he said.

"Kill?" asked Kohta, getting up from the sand.

"But…Bando," said the second gunman, "He's just a kid."

"So is she," said the one called Bando, pointing to Kaede, "And our orders are to terminate her, right?"

(A/N: Bando – Jason Douglas)

"No!" said Bando's confederate. "We're supposed to bring her in!"

Kohta suddenly got up from the ground and grabbed Kaede's hand.

"Run, Kaede!" he yelled.

With that, the two of them ran toward the stairs leading up from the beach, but the soldiers caught up to them, and Bando struck him on the head with the butt of his gun even harder than before, knocking him unconscious.

"No!" yelled Kaede. "Kohta! Kohta! Get up!"

Kaede heard the man's gun cock, and turned to see him pointing it right at her.

"They say you're supposed to be some kind of dangerous killer," he said, smiling. "That you've got some kind of secret weapon on you."

With that, he kicked her in the head.

"Go ahead," said Bando. "You got some kind of weapon? Let's see it!"

Kaede shook her head.

"That hurt," she said.

"Come on!" yelled Bando. "Let's see this weapon of yours!"

Kaede looked defiantly up at Bando.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," she spat.

Bando grimaced.

"Satou," he said. "Finish her off."

He took off his helmet and mask, pulled out a pack of cigarettes and started to light one. The other soldier looked at Bando, confused.

"But, sir!" exclaimed Satou.

"Do it," said Bando, finally managing to light his cigarette. "That's an order."

Kaede looked up at the two men with loathing and no small amount of fear as Satou pointed his gun at her.

"I'm sorry, miss…" said the Satou.

But before the man could pull the trigger, Kaede heard something that sounded like a thump, and the man rasped out sharply before falling forward. Kaede and Bando looked at the Satou on the ground, and then looked up from his unconscious body on the ground to see a man in a white hooded duster coat standing above him, a dart pistol in his right hand.

Bando was shocked for a moment, but came to his senses and drew his gun.

"Bastard!" he exclaimed.

But before he could fire, the attacker threw something at him that exploded on impact. There were no major wounds, but now Bando was blinded.

"MY EYES!" he exclaimed.

Bando still had the gun in his hands, but the attacker ran for Bando and wrestled the gun out of his grip, smacking him in the face with it.

The attacker beat him over the head with the butt of his gun a few more times before Bando caught it. Bando shoved the gun out of the hooded man's arms, and jumped on top of him. Bando moved his hands over the man's body until he found his neck.

"You're going to pay for my eyes, you bastard!" he exclaimed.

The man was now struggling to attack Bando back. As Kaede looked on, she could tell that the man who saved her life was now on the verge of being choked to death. She came to a decision. She didn't want to do it, but she couldn't just let this psychopath kill her savior. She summoned out her vectors, closed her eyes and swiped them in the man's direction.

"Forgive me, Daddy!" she yelled.

In one swift motion, Bando's right arm was cleaved clean off, and his left, feeling the impact of the vector, was snapped in half.

Bando screamed in pain, and rolled off the hooded man, who got up from the sand, and looked toward Kaede. Kaede couldn't see his face, but he bowed toward her and fled the scene.

With one of their attackers dead, and the other ready to bleed out, Kaede ran over to Kohta's unconscious body and lifted his arm over her shoulders. She steadied him with her vectors and began to walk him back toward Kaede House. The walk seemed to take forever with Kaede having to balance Kohta as she went up the stairs.

Kaede gently set Kohta by the front door as she knocked. While she waited for Yuka to answer, she picked Kohta back up. Yuka finally opened the door and gasped.

"Kaede!" she exclaimed. "What happened?!"

Kaede moved Kohta as carefully as she could.

"Kohta's been hurt," she said. "A couple of guys on the beach jumped us."

Yuka went to Kohta's legs and hoisted him up. The two girls brought him into his bedroom, where they set him down on his futon and set about taking care of him. Kaede took his pulse. It felt weak. They were about to go and grab a cold washcloth when they heard a knock at the door. Kaede checked before answering, and found that the person at the door was Joe. She opened the door and quickly ushered Joe in.

"Kaede, what's going on?" he asked.

"Dad, it's Kohta!" exclaimed Kaede. "He's been hurt!"

Joe slipped off his shoes and went inside. As soon as he got to Kohta's room, he opened his one eye and looked at it. He took his cell phone and flipped it on in front of Kohta's eye, then turned to the girls.

"Yuka, get a cold washcloth," he said. "Kaede, go get some ibuprofen. He'll need it when he wakes up."

The two girls did as they were told, grabbing the needed items and bringing them to Joe.

"Alright," said Joe. "He's going to be fine, health-wise, but I don't envy him with the headache he'll have when he wakes up…which should be in about…five minutes."

Joe looked over to Kaede.

"How did this happen?" he asked.

"Some punks ambushed us on the beach," she said. "We managed to get away…_mostly_ intact."

"So I see," said Joe.

He looked at his watch, then at his phone.

"Kaede, go get a soda," he said. "The sugar will help."

Kaede left and did as Joe said. After she was done getting the soda, she went back to Kohta's room to drink it, hoping that she would finish it in time for him to wake up. The trio waited patiently, until they finally saw Kohta start to stir.

"I think he's coming to," said Yuka.

Kohta shifted from side to side.

"My head…" he said. "It hurts."

As soon as that was said, Joe took two tablets of ibuprofen and handed them to Kohta.

"Take these," said Joe.

Kohta took the two pills.

"Kaede…can I have a sip of that?" he asked.

Kaede handed Kohta her soda, of which he promptly took a gulp.

"You gave us a good scare there, son," said Joe.

Kohta looked over at Joe.

"Oh," he said. "Hey, Professor Martino."

"Hey yourself," said Joe. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, uh…" began Kohta. "Did I get hit by a truck?"

Joe, Kaede and Yuka smiled, but Joe quickly returned to being serious.

"You're in better shape than that," he said. "You took a pretty bad hit to the head, but I think you'll be better tomorrow."

"Thanks, Professor," said Kohta. "Kaede, how are you doing? You're not hurt are you?"

Kaede smiled at Kohta.

"Thanks to you, I'm not," she said.

"Hey, I didn't do that much," said Kohta. "They knocked me out."

"Well, you bought us some time," said Kaede. "That's something."

Joe got up from his spot on the floor.

"Well, I've done all I can do," he said. "Kaede, let's get going. Kohta will need some rest. I'll bring you over tomorrow so we can have a little talk with these two."

"Okay," said Kaede. "Kohta, call me if you need anything at all, or if you just want to hang."

"You got it," said Kohta.

Kaede and Joe found Gendo waiting in the living room for them. He looked at Kaede really grumpily.

"Hey," said Kaede. "I'm sorry I left you behind. I meant to just grab my phone and come back."

Gendo grumbled under his breath.

"Would you forgive me if I gave you one of your favorite treats?" asked Kaede.

At that, Gendo perked right up.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," said Kaede.

The three piled into the car and drove back home. When they got back to the house, Joe yawned rather loudly.

"I'm going to go to bed, Kaede," he said. "I highly recommend you do the same."

"Alright, Dad," said Kaede.

"So," said Joe, "how do you think you'll like spending your whole summer with your friends?"

Kaede smiled.

"I'm loving the idea," she said.

"I want you both to sleep in tomorrow," said Joe. "We're all jetlagged and need rest."

Kaede nodded as she let out a yawn of her own.

"Alright, then," she said, turning toward her room. "Good night, Dad."

"Good night, sweetie," said Joe.

Gendo followed Kaede to her room while Joe went to his own room, practically tearing off his business clothes as he went. He had not planned on a fight with a couple of Templar mercenaries, least of all over his own daughter and her pseudo-quasi-boyfriend, not two hours after they touched down in Japan.

To Be Continued.


	6. Questions

"Assassin's Creed: Elf Song"

By cdc100

Summary: As a child, Kaede is adopted, and now has a loving family. However, when her new father is kidnapped, she must learn the ways of the Assassins in order to save him.

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fanfiction. Elfen Lied is the property of AEsir Holdings, Madman Entertainment, Studio Arms, Anime Network and Lynn Okamoto. And Assassin's Creed is the property of Ubisoft, Patrice Desilets, Jade Raymond and Corey May. Please support the official releases.

Chapter Six

"Questions"

The next morning, Joe, Kaede and Gendo were finishing their breakfasts, and just as Kaede was about to leave the table, she was stopped by Joe.

"Hey, wait," he said. "You almost forgot something."

He reached down under his chair and retrieved something, which was revealed to be a stack of movies when he set it next to Kaede's empty plate.

"What's that?" asked Kaede, coming back to her seat.

"Your first assignment for my class," said Joe. "Feel free to take it over to Kohta and Yuka's and just enjoy them."

Kaede finally reached her seat and picked up the movies, then shuffled through them.

"_Last of the Mohicans_, _There Will Be Blood_, _The Crucible_, _Gangs of New York_, _My Left Foot_, _Lincoln_…what? A Daniel Day-Lewis marathon?" asked Kaede.

Joe smirked.

"Was he not just the MAN in those?" he asked. "Hands-down, greatest actor in the world."

"And yet, somehow, not your favorite," said Kaede.

"No," said Joe. "That honor belongs to Robert Downey, Jr. Come on, sweetheart, you have to appear in a hell of a lot more movies than that to be my favorite. I'm lucky to see Day-Lewis in a movie in less than three years."

Kaede merely grunted.

"Don't get me wrong," said Joe. "His skill is unquestionable, and for that, I do count him among my favorites. He just isn't in near as many movies as he should be."

"I get it, Dad," said Kaede. "I get it."

Kaede picked up her backpack and slid the movies into it.

"So, how is today going to go?" asked Joe.

"Oh, I just thought I'd meet Kohta, Kanae and Yuka at their place and see what their plans are," said Kaede. "We still have another week before their classes start, and I thought we might end their break with a bang."

Joe looked at her expectantly.

"Don't worry, Dad," said Kaede. "I'll work your class into conversation. They might be interested in the marathon."

"Good," said Joe. "I think Kohta might especially be interested. You said he liked to draw stuff, right?"

"What's your point?" asked Kaede.

"Well, he sounds like an artsy guy," said Joe.

"Really, Dad?" asked Kaede. "Isn't it kind of rude to assume that?"

"Maybe so," said Joe. "But I'm a writer and a huge fan of anime. I like to create things, and I am huge into film, literature, cartoons and comics. Stereotypes may be rude and offensive, Kaede, but they exist for a reason. Remember that."

Kaede shrugged.

"Point taken, I guess," she said. "Still, though."

Kaede opened the door and looked back at Joe.

"I'll see you later, Dad," she said. "Try not to get bored without us."

As if on cue, Gendo followed Kaede out the door, with Kaede shutting it behind him. When the door was shut, Joe looked in the direction of the door and smirked very slightly.

"Oh, I'm not too worried about that," he said.

Before Kaede left her and Joe's property, she considered hailing a cab, but then remembered her four-legged companion and guessed that he probably wouldn't have been allowed on a cab or even a bus unless he was a service animal. With that in mind, she grabbed a spare bicycle that they kept on the property, and had Gendo follow her as she rode toward Kaede House.

"Stay on the sidewalk, buddy," she said.

Gendo barked in agreement and continued to run after Kaede until they finally reached Kohta's place.

She locked her bicycle to one of the posts on the porch upon her arrival, and gently knocked on the door while Gendo stopped to catch his breath. Gendo came up to join her just as the door opened.

"Hi, Yuka," said Kaede. "What's up?"

"Kaede," said Yuka. "It's good to see you. What are you doing here?"

"Nothing much," said Kaede. "I just thought I'd hang out with you guys for a while."

Yuka smiled.

"That sounds good," she said. "Kohta's still in bed, but he might be up and about in a little while."

"How's he feeling?" asked Kaede.

"His head's feeling a lot better," said Yuka. "He ate a little breakfast earlier."

Yuka gestured toward the interior of the house.

"Why don't you come in?" she asked.

"Thanks," said Kaede, stepping over the threshold.

Gendo followed her and as Kaede slipped off her shoes, he rubbed all four of his paws on the mat in front of the door. The two new guests padded down the hall to Kohta's room and looked in. Indeed, Kohta was laying, eyes closed, on a mat in his room.

Kaede walked carefully over to Kohta and knelt down next to him.

"Hi, Kohta," she said, keeping her voice low.

Kohta slowly opened his eyes when he heard her.

"Oh," he said. "Hi, Kaede. How's it going?"

"I could ask you the same, but Yuka already answered me," said Kaede. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah," said Kohta. "I'm doing alright. I just thought I should take it easy."

"Sounds like a plan," said Kaede. "I have a couple of things to tell you, Kanae and Yuka about, but I'll wait until you get up."

"Okay," said Kohta.

"Just try to make it soon, alright?" asked Kaede.

"Sure," said Kohta. "I think still being in bed at 10 is pushing it."

"Kanae says you're normally in bed until noon," said Kaede, smiling.

"Oh, jeez," said Kohta. "I've been getting better about that. I've been awake since eight today, so my being in bed right now doesn't count."

"Whatever you say," said Kaede.

Before getting up, she leaned forward and planted a kiss on Kohta's cheek.

"Thanks for helping me last night," she said.

"Don't mention it," said Kohta, a blush coating his cheeks.

Kaede and Gendo left Kohta's room and decided to explore the house a little more.

The two didn't find much to the dwelling. The most furnished rooms in the house were the kitchen and the bedrooms. However, they did get a closer look at the indoor hot spring the house had to offer, and Kaede, at least, thought it looked really relaxing.

"What I wouldn't give to soak in that for a while," she said. "I wonder if Kanae is up right now."

As if on cue, when Kaede turned her head, she saw Kohta's younger sister sprint down the hall and rush her.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Kaede.

"Hey!" replied Kanae. "I'm glad you came back! We barely got to visit yesterday!"

"Oh, come on, Kanae," said Kaede. "You know I wouldn't miss visiting you."

The two looked in on the indoor hot spring.

"Awesome, isn't it?" asked Kanae. "I haven't gotten to use it since we got here, but the day's just begun!"

"I get the next turn," said Kaede.

Kanae looked confused for a moment, but then perked back up.

"Well, enough about that," she said.

She gestured for Kaede to follow as she went back into the living room, where they found Kohta finally out of his room, sitting up.

"How's your head feeling, Kohta?" asked Kanae.

"Better," said Kohta.

He stretched and let out a small yawn.

"So, what are you guys up to today?" asked Kaede.

"We were going to do some cleaning today," said Yuka.

"We didn't really feel like doing it yesterday so we figured we'd wait," said Kanae. "But with Kohta feeling the way he does, I just don't know."

"I…could tough it out," said Kohta. "You guys don't need to stop what we're doing on my account."

"Well, I could be persuaded to help you," said Kaede, smiling.

"What do you mean 'persuaded?'" asked Yuka.

"I can help, but I'd like you guys to do something with me afterwards," said Kaede.

"What might that be?" asked Kanae.

Kaede pulled off her backpack and unzipped it. She pulled out the stack of movies Joe had given her.

"Why don't you all sit down?" she asked.

From their various places in the room, Kaede and her friends went to have a seat. They gathered together and Kaede spread the movies out in front of her.

"My dad didn't bring me back to Japan just so I could see you," she said.

"What do you mean?" asked Kohta.

"You guys know that my dad writes and is also a teacher, yes?" asked Kaede.

"Rings a bell," said Kanae.

"Well, my dad is going to teach a course here for the time being, at the exact university you are going to," said Kaede. "He's going to teach a film class."

"A film class?" asked Yuka.  
>"Yes," said Kaede. "One that I am going to attend. And he would very much like it if I could get as many people interested in his class as possible. So, how about it? You want in?"<p>

Kohta shrugged.

"Sure," he said. "I could use a good blow off class."

Kaede punched him in the arm.

"Ow!" he said. "Hey!"

Kaede smiled at him.

"I'm sorry," she said. "What did you say?"

"I said…it would be a great way to expand my horizons," said Kohta. "How about you guys?"

Kanae smiled.

"It sounds like fun to me," she said.

Yuka shook her head.

"Alright," she said. "If it means that much to you, I'll take it too."

"Excellent!" said Kaede.

"So, what's with all the movies, Kaede?" asked Kohta picking up one. "_Gangs of New York?_"

"This is the first assignment for the class," said Kaede, smiling. "A Daniel Day-Lewis marathon."

Kanae cocked an eyebrow.

"Who is that?" she asked.

"Only the greatest actor in the world," said Kaede.

Kanae scoffed.

"Oh yeah?" she asked. "What makes him so great?"

"Well, gee," said Kaede. "Where to start? To put it simply, Daniel Day-Lewis has been known to put all his being into his performances to the point where you don't even know it's Daniel Day-Lewis anymore. He dedicates himself to making his characters realistic even if it damages his overall wellbeing."

Kohta held up the movie in his hands.

"What did he do for this?" he asked.

Kaede picked up _Gangs of New York_ and smiled.

"For his character, Bill "The Butcher" Cutting, he actually took up a butchering apprenticeship and learned how to properly cut meat and use a knife effectively," she said. "And when it was getting cold on set, he refused to trade in the coat he was using for a more modern, better-insulated one, simply because the coat he was wearing was one that people would have had to endure such conditions with back in the 1800s. As a result, he got sick. He got pneumonia, and refused to seek treatment until it almost killed him."

"Wow," said Kanae.

"You think that's impressive, you ain't seen nothing yet," said Kaede, pulling out _My Left Foot_. "In this, he plays the famous author Christy Brown, who had cerebral palsy. The title comes from the fact that the only thing Christy Brown could control was his left foot. For this character, Day-Lewis stayed in a wheelchair the entire time the movie was being shot, actually learned to write with his foot, and maintained the kind of awkward position you would expect of someone with cerebral palsy. And if you're not impressed by that, when they were finally done shooting and he left his wheelchair, they found that he had broken two ribs. Or so I've heard."

The others were stunned for a moment.

"Okay, that's actually pretty impressive," said Kanae.

"The only thing we would change about him is the length of his filmography," said Kaede, smiling. "So, you're in? I'll see you in my dad's class?"

"Yeah," said Kanae.

"Sure," said Kohta.

"Okay," said Yuka.

"Great!" said Kaede, pulling them all into a hug. "Okay, where do you keep your cleaning supplies?"

Yuka went into a supply closet and pulled out several pieces of equipment.

With the four of them working together, the residents of Kaede house made quick work of the little messes that had somehow been made in the until recently vacant house. It wasn't long before Kohta and Kaede found themselves working on scrubbing the entryway.

"I think we can call this good, Kohta," said Kaede.

"Alright," said Kohta. "Oh, wait. I missed a spot."

He reached over in front of Kaede, but as he did, he felt his elbow bump into something.

Kaede let out a light squeak.

Kohta looked back and found out what the problem was. He had bumped into her chest.

"Oh my god!" he exclaimed, retracting his elbow. "Sorry!"

Kaede turned away ever so slightly.

"It's…okay," she said, a light blush on her cheeks. "Don't worry about it. I was in your way."

"That's no excuse," said Kohta.

He turned the other way and scrubbed at the spot he missed before retracting the sponge and putting it back in the bucket.

At that moment, Yuka walked by. She stepped into the entryway and put her shoes on.

"I'm going shopping," she said. "Can you think of anything we need?"

"Everything," said Kohta. "I don't think we got around to buying groceries yesterday. Thank goodness we ate dinner before we arrived."

Yuka turned and went out the door.

"Okay," she said. "I'll be back in a little while."

"Hurry back!" said Kaede.

Kohta turned to Kaede as Yuka left.

"Did you have anything else in mind for activities, Kaede?" he asked.

"Not really," said Kaede. "I just thought watching those movies together could be fun. Also, in the spirit of the movies we're watching, I thought maybe we could order out and have some American food."

"American cuisine, huh?" asked Kohta.

"No, that stuff's just food," said Kaede.

Kaede was about to lead Kohta back into the living room when they heard a knock at the door, followed by the sound of it sliding open. They turned around, and in the doorway, they saw a young girl with a yellow oversized sweatshirt, carrying an umbrella.

"Um…excuse me?" she asked.

Kaede turned to face her.

"Hello there," she said. "Can we help you with something?"

The girl looked up at the two and shuffled her feet.

"The thing is…" she began. "I found this umbrella, and the name of this restaurant was written on the handle."

"I see," said Kohta. "Thanks for bringing it back."

Kaede took the umbrella from the girl and smiled.

"Would you like to come in?" she asked.

Before the girl could answer, the trio heard a sound like yipping from a dog outside.

"Is that a puppy?" asked Kaede, rushing outside.

Kohta followed her, and the two found a small puppy outside the door, tethered to a post.

"Oh, hello little guy!" said Kaede.

Kaede reached forward and scratched the little animal behind the ears.

"Who is this?" asked Kaede, looking back up at the girl.

"This is…my friend," she said. "I call him Wanta."

"Hello, Wanta!" said Kaede. "You're so cute! You remind me of Gendo when he was little!"

The dog barked happily.

"Who's Gendo?" asked the girl.

"Oh, Gendo's my dog," said Kaede. "He's fully grown now."

The girl nodded.

"You know," said Kohta. "We're sorry. We've forgotten our manners. What's your name?"

"Me?" asked the girl. "My…name is Mayu."

(A/N: Mayu – Cynthia Martinez)

"Nice to meet you, Mayu," said Kaede. "I'm sure Gendo would love to meet you too."

Kaede clapped her hands, and out came racing he faithful companion, Gendo.

"Gendo, say hello to our guests," said Kaede.

Gendo padded over to Mayu and started to lick her hand. In response, Mayu gently patted his head. At that moment, Gendo seemed to take notice of Wanta and wandered up to the little dog.

"Wait!" exclaimed Mayu.

"Oh, don't worry, Mayu," said Kaede. "Gendo's perfectly harmless. He's a big old softy."

True to what Kaede said, the larger dog bent down and started to lick the younger dog, getting at different parts of its fur.

"See?" asked Kaede. "He likes him."

"Hey," said a voice. "What's going on here?"

The three people turned in the direction of the voice to see that Yuka was already back with the groceries.

"Oh," said Kaede. "Hey, Yuka!"

"We have a visitor," said Kohta. "Mayu here came to return our umbrella. I must have left it on the beach last night after tracking Kaede down."

"I see," said Yuka.

Yuka walked past them and into the house.

"Hey, Yuka," said Kohta. "I'll help you put those away."

Kaede looked up at Mayu.

"Hey, we were just getting ready to have a little snack," she said. "Would you and your friend like to join us?"

Mayu looked at Kaede and smiled.

"Sure," she said.

The two walked into the house. Mayu unhooked Wanta from the post and led him indoors. Gendo followed at Kaede's heels.

"You know," said Kaede, "if you want, maybe you and I can take these two for a walk. What would you think of that?"

Mayu looked down at Wanta.

"Um…well…" she stammered.

"Come on," said Kaede. "It'll be fun!"

Mayu looked back up at the pink-haired girl and smiled.

"Okay," she said. "Sure, that sounds like fun."

"Alright, then," said Kaede.

The girls took their shoes off and led their animal companions to the living room. As they sat down for their snack, Kaede noticed the pile of DVDs.

"Okay," she said. "I guess that's one downside to our guest."

"What?" asked Mayu.

"Oh," said Kaede. "Nothing."

As the girls sat down, Kanae walked into the room.

"What the hell, Kaede?" she asked. "Why didn't you say we had company?"

Kaede rolled her eyes.

"Sorry," she said.

Kohta came out into the living room with some treats. Each of the girls took one, and Kohta even gave one to each of the dogs.

Mayu looked blissful as she took a bite of the snack she was offered.

"Thank you," she said.

"No problem," said Kaede.

After the group finished with their snacks, Kohta turned to Mayu.

"You know," he said, "I just realized, if you found our umbrella, you must have been near the beach when me and Kaede were attacked."

Sweat suddenly gathered on Mayu's cheeks.

"Well…yes," she said.

"Don't be nervous," said Kaede.

"Yeah," said Kohta. "I was just hoping to ask you a couple of things."

"O…kay," said Mayu.

At that moment, Mayu couldn't take her eyes off the table.

"Did you happen to see anything going on at the beach?" asked Kohta.

"Uh…well…" Mayu stammered.

"Take your time, sweetie," said Kaede. "No need to rush."

Mayu gulped.

"I remember…seeing a man on the beach," he said. "He was blinded. And one of his arms was missing. The other was broken."

"That's it?" asked Kaede.

"I…put a tourniquet on his arm and went to get him help," said Mayu. "He was bleeding out. I hope he's okay."

Kaede and Kohta looked at each other.

"Were you two…there?" asked Mayu.

"Oh," said Kohta. "Well, you see, we were ambushed down there. We managed to get away before anything really bad happened. We were wondering if you knew of anything else that happened down there."

Mayu nodded.

"There's a chance the police could come by at some point," said Kaede. "It would be really helpful if we had someone else's word on what happened down there."

"I…see," said Mayu.

After another snack, Mayu went to retrieve Wanta, and the three residents walked her to the door. Mayu turned and bowed her head in respect.

"Thank you for having us," said Mayu. "We really appreciate it."

Wanta barked, seemingly in agreement.

"It's alright," said Kaede. "We were happy to have you."

Kohta turned away from Kaede toward Mayu.

"Do you have an address or phone number that we can use to get in touch with you?" he asked. "You know, just in case the police call."

Mayu's eyes widened the smallest amount. She quickly closed them and bowed again.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed. "I have to go!"

She and the dog scrambled down the steps leading up to the house, until they rounded the corner and were out of sight.

Kaede frowned.

"Did something about that girl seem strange to you?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Kohta. "She seemed…I don't know…"

"Distressed?" asked Kaede.

"Yeah," said Kohta. "I hope she's okay."

"Me too," said Kaede. "She had that look like that smile in there was her first smile in months."

Kohta nodded.

"Well, guest or no, I still have to take Gendo for a walk," said Kaede. "Would you like to come with me?"

"Oh," said Kohta. "I would love to, but I don't think I should leave Kanae, and if she came with us, Yuka will be wondering where we all went."

"Well, you could leave a note," said Kaede.

"That's true," said Kohta. "I don't want her to worry, though. I'll have some food waiting for you when you get back, though."

"Okay!" chirped Kaede. "Well, I'll see you later, Kohta."

Kaede trotted down the steps of the house, Gendo close behind, and the two went on their walk.

The two walked through the main part of the town, getting a better lay of their surroundings.

"Wonder if anything's changed since we were last here," said Kaede. "Wanna find out?"

Gendo looked up at Kaede and barked.

"Alright, then," said Kaede. "I'll check high, you check low."

Gendo panted and sat in place as Kaede looked for a foothold in one of the nearby walls. Finding one, she ran toward it and pivoted off the foothold, grabbed hold of the roof and pulled herself up.

When she was on the roof, she turned all the way around once to take in her surroundings, then looked down at Gendo.

"I could have used my arms, but that just seems a tad lazy," she said.

Gendo barked up at her again and took off down the street. Kaede smiled at the dog's antics and pursued him.

As the two ran, the dog on the street and the girl on the roof, Kaede looked around the area.

"I don't know why I expected any changes, Gendo," she called down to her dog. "Everything seems to look the same every time we come here. Oh. Spoke too soon. The old teashop's been replaced with a new one."

Further down the road from the tea shop, something else caught her eye.

"Hm," she said. "Abstergo has outlets here too, huh?"

Seeing where she was looking, Gendo rushed over to a storefront with an insignia that looked like a triangle composed of three trapezoids arranged around each other. Kaede climbed down from the roof and followed her companion over to the storefront.

Inside the window, displayed on a rotating platform, was what looked like a game console.

"Animus," said Kaede, reading the label on the product. "Kohta would probably love something like this. I know Dad would."

She chuckled.

"But you know Dad," she said. "Still rockin' the PS3 and Wii."

Gendo looked up at Kaede and barked.

"Let's get going, Gendo," said Kaede.

Kaede walked with Gendo until they were away from the main part of town, and the duo came upon a park. The two walked through the park in near silence. The only sounds either could hear were Gendo's panting and Kaede humming a small tune, and occasionally letting a few of the words come out of her mouth.

"I can feel it…coming in the air tonight…oh lord," she mumbled. "And I've been waiting for this moment…for all my life…oh lord."

After a few more steps, she kept singing.

"Can you feel it…coming in the air tonight…oh lord," she said. "Oh lord…"

She stopped singing when they came upon the town's cemetery. She yawned.

"Feel like taking a break?" asked Kaede.

Gendo barked once, indicating the stairs near the grave markers.

"You're right," said Kaede. "Those look like a great place to park it for a minute. Let's go."

They went over to the steps and took a seat. For a moment, Kaede leaned up against the rock wall. She yawned loudly and reached down to scratch Gendo's neck.

"Need to get more sleep," she said. "Swear to God."

Then, suddenly, Kaede's eyes shot wide open. There was something odd happening. An odd tingle made itself known in her head. She could feel something nearby…or someone…

"Gendo," said Kaede.

Gendo looked up from where he had laid down, the step just below Kaede's seat, silently answering her.

"Something's wrong," said Kaede. "Don't ask me how I know. Something just feels out of whack. Like…I don't know, like I can sense something or somebody nearby."

Gendo looked around frantically now. His brow crinkled, and Kaede thought she could hear a low growl coming from him.

"I know," said Kaede. "I don't like it either. We should go."

"Excuse me," said a voice.

Kaede turned around and was met with a strange sight…or it would be, if the sight wasn't eerily similar to her own reflection.

Standing behind Kaede was a young girl. She couldn't have been more than 13 or 14. But what got Kaede's attention was the fact that this girl had pink hair and eyes that looked almost violet. She was wearing a dark violet dress with white cuffs and collar, and in her hair was what appeared to be a violet necktie.

"Of course you knew I was coming," she said, smiling. "And I knew that you'd know."

Kaede quirked an eyebrow.

"How…did you know…who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Nana," said the girl. "I was hoping I would find you."

(A/N: Nana – Sasha Paysinger)

Kaede and Gendo stood up from their spots on the stairs and looked at the new arrival.

"Why were you looking for me?" asked Kaede. "What are you?"

"I'm a diclonius," said Nana. "Just like you."

Kaede stuttered.

"D-…Dye…dyke…diclonius?" she asked.

She looked up at the tie in Nana's hair.

"Oh," she said. "I get it. You have horns too, don't you?"

"Yes," said Nana. "You're just like me."

Kaede took a miniscule step back.

"What do you want with me?" she asked.

Nana had been holding what looked like a shopping bag.

"I'm going to go home, and you're going to come with me," she said, putting the bag down.

"I don't think so," said Kaede, stepping back a bit further.

"It's no use running away," said Nana. "I already told them I've found you. They know you're here."

It was then that Kaede got a good look at what Nana had in the bag. It looked to be audio equipment. Kaede had the feeling it was a radio that Nana was using to relay information to whoever "they" were.

As she said this, Nana maintained a small, calm smile.

"What's next?" she asked.

Kaede shook her head.

"As many questions as I might have, whoever sent you must be insane if they thought I'd willingly go with whoever they sent, even if they did look like me," said Kaede.

Her eyes widened suddenly.

"They don't," she said. "Gendo, let's go. We have to get out of here."

Kaede turned to leave, but suddenly found her leg being held tight to the ground.

"Oh no," said Kaede. "You have them too."

"We all do," said Nana. "Mine are longer than yours."

Kaede shook her head.

"I have people who will come looking for me," she said, pulling out her phone.

"I can't let you do that," said Nana. "Papa asked me to bring you home with me. I can't let him down."

Kaede felt both her hands being hoisted into the air by the same force that held her leg. She looked down at Gendo.

"Gendo, go get help!" exclaimed Kaede.

The dog barked at Kaede and ran as fast as he could back to the house.

"Look, Nana," said Kaede. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you force me."

"I don't want to hurt you either," said Nana. "I can't kill anyone."

"Wha-?" Kaede said, taken aback. "Who said anything about killing?"

"Enough questions," said a new voice.

Kaede looked to the other side of her and saw a tall man wearing a suit and glasses. He advanced methodically toward Nana and her captive.

"You'll be coming with us," he said.

"Like hell," said Kaede. "Who even are you?"

The man adjusted his glasses.

"Call me Kurama," he said.

(A/N: Kurama – Jay Hickman)

"Well, Kurama," said Kaede. "What exactly do you need me for?"

"I'm afraid I can't discuss it with you," said Kurama. "Not here and not now."

Kaede grimaced.

"Then _I'm_ afraid we have nothing more to discuss," she said.

With that, she released the chunks of rocks she surreptitiously picked up while being held by Nana and questioned by Kurama.

"I'm sorry…" said Kaede, as the shadows of the rocks covered her two captors.

Nana and Kurama both looked up in alarm. One of the large rocks started to fall toward Kurama, but Nana rushed toward him as well.

"Papa!" she exclaimed. "Look out! Move!"

Nana ran toward Kurama and pushed him out of the way of the rock. The rock fell with a loud crash. Kurama looked down at himself, and found he was unharmed.

"Are you alright, Papa?" asked Nana.

Kurama looked toward Nana. His eyes widened as he saw that Nana wasn't as lucky as he had been.

Nana had a pained expression on her face, due to the weight of a large rock being on her arm and leg. Kurama surmised that the appendages were shattered at best.

As Kurama tended to Nana, Kaede ran up the stairs and into the graveyard. However, as soon as she rounded one corner, she heard what she thought was the sound of a bullet ricocheting…less than an inch from her head. The shot stopped her dead in her tracks. Looking to her right, she could see a group of soldiers in all black, not unlike what the soldiers on the beach wore, and pointing guns at her. They all seemed to be led by a man in what appeared to be a labcoat.

"What is all of this?" asked Kaede.

"We're taking you in," said the man in the coat. "We need you for a special project."

"I'm going to assume that means you need me alive," said Kaede.

With that, she broke into a run and weaved in and out of the tombstones and grave markers all about the place. They provided sufficient cover, but also required the soldiers to give chase. Eventually, the soldiers caught up to her and had her surrounded on all sides, each with a gun pointed at her. She put her hands on her head in anticipation of her capture, but just as the group started to close in, she heard a dull popping sound, and one of the soldiers fell to the ground, unmoving. Kaede couldn't tell whether he was unconscious or dead.

The soldiers were on high alert now. Half of them had their eyes on Kaede, the other half were looking at their surroundings in hope of catching their newfound stalker. Moments after the first attack, one of the soldiers observing Kaede found himself being dragged by the neck into the nearby trees. His body seemed to move up into the branches and halt. As he hung there, he clutched his neck, seemingly trying to dislodge something.

Another one of Kaede's observers fell dead in front of the others. After he fell forward, the small group was able to see the cause. A knife was embedded in the soldier's back. After that attack, Kaede could swear she saw someone moving really fast between the gravestones. Indeed, she thought she saw someone wearing a white hood, similar to the man who rescued her and Kohta the night before.

At this point, there were only three people left, but Kaede heard a sound like quick and soft footsteps, coming toward the soldiers. Out of nowhere, Kaede saw three men in white hoods jump up into the air and onto the three men. Kaede thought she heard the sound of blades unsheathing. She saw the three men seemingly clutching onto the men's throats, but when they withdrew their hands, she could see deep gashes on their throats.

Kaede stood wide-eyed and more than a little bit nervous. However, she was broken out of her stupor when one of these assailants came up to her while the other two ran back into the trees.

"It's not safe here," he said, in a voice Kaede thought she recognized. "Leave now. Get to safety."

Kaede put her hands down and started running from the cemetery as fast as she could.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Sorry about the long wait, you guys. I wasn't going to make excuses before, but so much has happened since I promised an update on this story, I don't even know where to begin. My birthday was fairly recent and I am now 23 years old. My summer job got over and I now have to find a new way to support myself and my brother. Between those things alone, it's been a miracle if I've been able to find the time to update anything, let alone this. I also got a visit from a friend of our family from Australia. The last time I saw him was literally just as I was starting high school. You do the math. I also had a really heartbreaking time after the death of great American actor, Robin Williams. I always knew that we would lose him at some point in my lifetime. I had just hoped it wouldn't be this soon. I spent a good deal of the time after his death being embarrassed to be a human being because a bunch of people were sending hate comments to his daughter over Twitter. For goodness' sake, people. This is a time for comfort, healing and love, not for anger and hatred. Thankfully, though, I have seen some positives in the last month or so. I played through all of the Dead Space games…probably won't ever play them again, but it's a pretty captivating story if you really pay attention. Also, a friend of mine moved into town after finally getting out of the Marine Corps. and we've been hanging out non-stop. Consequently, I've spent a lot of the time more than a little bit inebriated. I also got to see the movie Guardians of the Galaxy. Anybody else see it? Okay, enough rambling. Now that I've told you what's going on, I'd like to ask you all something. After I get done with Assassin's Creed: Elf Song, or I've done a decent amount, I'm thinking of doing another Elfen Lied crossover, this time with a Marvel comics franchise. I'm thinking of either X-Men or Guardians of the Galaxy. X-Men would make more sense, but Guardians of the Galaxy would be cooler. What do you guys think I should do? If you decide to review, let me know what you think. Till then, catch you later!


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